


Ruby Rose: The Johto Journeys

by TheBrcklayer



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - No Creatures of Grimm (RWBY), Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Bad Parent Jacques Schnee, Blake Belladonna is a Good Friend, But Yang isn't the one making them for once, Character Bonding, Character Study, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Developing Friendships, F/F, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Female-Centric, Friendship, Gen, Horrible puns abound, Human Blake Belladonna, Humor, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jacques Schnee is a Bastard, Ladybug shipping, Legendary Pokemon, Minor Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Minor Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Minor Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Monochrome Shipping, My First Work in This Fandom, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon Training, Rivals, Summer Rose (RWBY) Lives, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, Team Fluff, Team Galactic (Pokemon), Teamwork, Tsundere Weiss Schnee, Whiterose Shipping, shocker I know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 69,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22122247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrcklayer/pseuds/TheBrcklayer
Summary: First off, -and Honedge would have laughed if he could- was a Galarian version of the Weezing, looking exactly like a factory billowing smoke. Fitting enough he supposed for the daughter of a tycoon. Ruby was already holding back giggles, and Honedge heard the words: “Oh my Arceus it looks like a bong!”That did nothing to improve Weiss’ mood.-----Arriving in Ecruteak City for a Gym Battle and winning it was how Ruby's week was meant to go. Meeting up with an old friend, and a new rival was certainly not what she expected. But she can deal... right? ...Right? And then there's that mysterious Pokemon she encountered a few nights before...
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 106
Kudos: 54





	1. 1: Old Friends, New Rivals

“Yes mom, I’m absolutely fine,” one Ruby Rose said as she lurked on the outside of Ecruteak City, the autumn leaves in full bloom as the passing of summer came to a close. A cascade of reds, oranges, and yellows painted the woodland, as birds chirped in the willows. A cool wind nipped through the air, reminding all that winter was next in line and rushing to take over. Even now Ruby found herself shivering, the fifteen-year-old never being a fan of the cold. Oh, what she wouldn’t give for a nice warm crackling fire right about now. Hopefully, the local Pokemon Center had one already roaring and raging. “See, I made it to Ecruteak all without a single casualty.”

Okay, maybe that wasn’t necessarily entirely true. There had been a few missteps here and there, okay maybe a lot of missteps. It wasn’t her fault that the forest had been foggy this morning, and she got maybe a  _ teensy weensy _ little totally over-excited when chasing after what looked to be an Eevee. Turned out to be a Rattata, totally common mistake really! Okay, so maybe going off the beaten path wasn’t the best idea as it took her hours, a bit of money going towards the swear jar and a few scrapes -she really hated Beedrill now okay?- to find Route 37 again. It could happen to anyone really! 

Ruby’s Herdier -named Zwei- gave her a skeptical look, having to pull his trainer’s butt out of the fire a few times. Sometimes literally, as her charred outfit could attest to. He shared a look with Honedge, the Sword Pokémon seemingly rolling his(?) eyes. Was it a he? Zwei could never tell with Pokemon based on inanimate objects. Didn’t help it always seemed to be watching him, Zwei mused. Ghost types always had this unnerving habit of making his fur stand on end.  _ “Oh, so what do you call this, young lady?”  _ Summer said over the video phone, eyes narrowed and hands on hips.

“Um… well…” Ruby laughed nervously as she looked down at her clothing, which she was only  _ now  _ just realizing needed a repair or two. Ruby was many things, but when she got laser-focused on catching certain Pokemon some things did tend to get blotted out of her mind. “...In all fairness, I thought I saw an Eevee and I just had to see if I could catch it!”

_ “Should we speak up?”  _ Zwei asked turning back to Honedge, the blade-based Pokemon humming in response. 

_ “Is it our place to say?”  _ Honedge replied.  _ “Humans have to work out their family issues themselves. Let Ruby and her carrier work this one out. It isn’t really our business. ...though I must admit I am curious how Ruby intends to explain this one away.” _

_ “You’re just scared of Summer, and that Aegislash of hers,”  _ Zwei said.  _ “...Not that I can entirely blame you. She’s… well, she’s scary enough to give a mother Pyroar a run for her money!” _

_ “Well, she does HAVE a Pyroar, and I don’t care what anyone says,”  _ Honedge said looking about as scared as a sword could look.  _ “I may be a weapon, but I’d really not go around challenging the one Pokemon who could smelt me!” _

_ “You’re being entirely ridiculous,”  _ Zwei returned.  _ “It’s not as if she can just reach through the screen!” _

_ “Can she?” _ Honedge asked pointedly and Zwei sighed. For a ghost-type, Honedge could be so cowardly at times. Then again, given this was Summer Rose, former Champion of Galar so that was… entirely forgivable. 

Zwei, to this day was never sure why Summer, at the top of her game chose to drop it all and let Leon the Undefeated take her spot. Well, he supposed he could see two reasons. Arceus knew neither Ruby or her sister would be able to get any peace if word ever got out who their mother used to be. They knew, of course, and hell Xiao Long loved the idea of being related to a former Champion. Still, it didn’t mean she still didn’t declare weekly she was going to surpass her. Summer just smiled and always said ‘you do that sweetie.’

_ “...well, I suppose I can’t fault you for that sweetheart,”  _ Summer remarked seemingly suppressing a sigh. She rubbed her forehead _ “I know how you get with certain Pokemon. ...still, just be careful okay? Some of these woods are no place for a girl your age to be walking alone.” _

“Relax, okay? Zwei will protect me!” Ruby declared picking up the herdier, who let out a yelp and held him up to the screen. Zwei gave a nervous little wave of his paw as both Honedge and Summer sweatdropped. “See?”

_ “....sometimes you overestimate my ability, Master,”  _ Zwei said to himself.  _ “I can’t protect you from everything, not yet at least. I swore I would try, yes, but I’m no proper Stoutland just yet.” _

Then again, at this form, he did get a bit more attention from the girls so… he supposed it wasn’t all bad. 

Honedge sweatdropped knowing exactly what his best friend was probably thinking right now. Zwei knew he was cute and used it to the best of his ability, and just about everyone could see it. He was like a liepard in disguise, Honedge swore at times. Summer giggled onscreen turning Honedge’s attention back to her. 

_ “Oh, okay. I see. Well, Qrow did say he would, and he’s never been wrong before… at least when he’s sober. Man’s a brilliant breeder, but he really should lay off the…”  _ Summer grumbled to herself her mutterings turning inaudible and both Zwei and his trainer shared a look. They’d heard it all before and would probably hear it again. Summer wasn’t wrong, Ruby’s uncle was a brilliant breeder but did have a tendency to turn to the bottle under stressful situations. ...which was about half of the time really given he was constantly worrying and fretting over which eggs would hatch and when. Both his Noivern and Honchkrow complained of this and Zwei knew both had to tuck the man into bed at times after he’d had a little too much of the happy juice.

It was like Ruby and cookies, it was an addiction everyone knew that wouldn’t be broken. Still, Zwei praised Summer -and Tai, whenever he was dragged into it- for trying. It was folly, but a good kind nonetheless.  _ “...In any event, you really should be getting to the Center before it gets dark, I’ve looked at the weather reports and it’s supposed to get really cold tonight… Well, at least that cloak of yours is still intact.” _

Zwei looked at the red cloak Ruby always wore everywhere. He never saw the point of it, honestly. If she wanted to be warm, she could just snuggle up to some fire type. Hell, he’d be happy to share some of his warmth. That was practically part of his job description! 

Honedge, for his part, knew Zwei would never understand. He wasn’t a warrior’s spirit, he didn’t possess it. He was only concerned with the more practical matters. Ruby sought to imitate her mother, and it made her actually look… well, sorta intimidating. Zwei said it made her look cute, but what did the dog know? He saw Ruby for what she was really trying to do, look badass and say, in her own way look out world here comes Ruby Rose daughter of a Champion! Xiao Long did it with her tattoos, Ruby did it with her cloak. It was as simple as that. 

“Eh-heh-heh-he-he…” Ruby laughed nervously hugging her cloak closer to herself. She shivered in the autumn chill, the moon only just beginning to rise over the Bell Tower to the East. “...Yeah, I suppose we really should be getting on with that, shouldn’t we Zwei?” 

“Arf!”

_ “Stay safe, and contact me in the morning, okay sweetheart?”  _ Summer asked.  _ “And don’t forget to get yourself a clean pair of clothes okay sweetie?” _

“Mooooooooooooooooooommm...” Ruby whined blushing a bright red, Summer giggling over the phone. Muttering a quick ‘I love you’ to her mother over the phone, Ruby continued into the city. As they walked, Ruby’s eyes found themselves drifting to every little PokeShop she could find. The Rose had always found herself drawn to whatever the latest gear was, no matter if her wallet would actually allow it. She was an absolute nerd about this sort of stuff, and a few times she and Qrow had actually tried to fiddle with their PokeNavs to see if they could improve the range. No such luck so far, as the Devon Corporation always made their stuff to last but one day soon...

Ruby’s eyes found themselves drifting to the sky above, where orange was beginning to turn to pink and pink to a deep blue. The sky was alight with stars, and the streetlights glowed. Fire Breathers with their Charmeleons and Litwicks performed in the streets to the beat of bongos, and Ruby was tempted to stop and watch. One of them, dressed like a magmar spun their stick around like a bo staff before twin Litwicks blew on it sending fire at the crowd. A Solrock redirected the flame in a dazzling display as the crowd ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ on cue.  **_“Solrock is a new species of Pokémon that is said to have fallen from space. It floats in the air and moves silently. In battle, this Pokémon releases intensely bright light when it’s body spins. Always expressionless, it can sense what it's foe is thinking, and has the ability to read the emotions of others.”_ ** Ruby’s Dex said upon scanning the Meteorite Pokémon.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Ruby heard a voice from behind her and on instinct reached for her Pokeballs. She turned to see a girl about her age, maybe older with long cascading black hair. A bow completed the ensemble she wore, and books were carried in her arms. A glameow was at her side, the woman’s eerie yellow eyes resembling its own. “No need to worry, I mean you no harm. Do you do that with every woman, or just the ones you like?”

It took Ruby a moment before she realized the woman was only joking, mumbling: “...you’re not very funny…”

“Was I supposed to be?” the black-haired trainer asked in response blinking slightly with a cute little tilt of her head. Glameow mimicked her trainer’s motions. Ruby at this, giggled. Her giggles turned into out and out laughter, with her new friend only looking the more confused. “...I… I don’t get it, what’s so funny?”

Ruby at this laughed harder and slapped her knee. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she explained. “I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh or embarrass you or anything I just guess it’s true what they say. Pokemon and their Trainers do start to act alike after a time!”

The woman let out a giggle or two of her own and nodded. “Yes, I suppose that is true. Ruby Rose, right? Daughter of Summer Rose?”

Ruby blinked before clamping a hand over her new companion’s mouth. “How did you… nobody was supposed to know… Not so loud!” she panicked before she hung her head in defeat. “...damnit, not even a few minutes into this city and we got made…”

“I promise I’ll keep your secret, Blake Belladonna,” the newly named Blake introduced herself. Ruby goggled at her. 

“Nooooo, it couldn’t be. Not that family name? The Belladonna Bookstore? Oh my gosh, I used to buy books from your mother all the time back in Patch! Small world, huh?”

Blake smiled. “That’s why I knew you, your mother was always talking about you to no end. You were always her favorite customer.”

“...wait, were you that kid who was always hanging out in the corner behind the shelves?” Ruby pressed and Blake’s embarrassed expression told her all she needed to know. “You were always so cute!”

Blake, if possible, went even redder. “What are you doing in Ecruteak City, all the way out here? Me, I’m here for my next Gym Badge but I suppose you already know that, “ Ruby continued. “Annnnnnnnnnnnd now I’m babbling, eh-heh-heh-he-he silly me!”

“Well aside from taking a small little detour, you might say out to the Alphiesian Ruins to see if I could catch and study some Unown I wanted to come out here to see  _ that _ for myself,” Blake said pointing up to the top of the Bell Tower to the northeast of the city. As ever, it rose tall and proud over the forest-covered hills and valleys which surrounded the city. Just looking at it gave Ruby a sense of awe and wonder, to think that this tower had survived over 700 years of history. Here, Blake looked at her friend, eyes narrowed. “You do know the legends, right?”

“Eh-heh-heh-he-he…” Ruby laughed nervously hugging her cloak closer to herself once more. Zwei facepawed and Honedge sweatdropped. Somehow. “...You know me, I’ve never been the best with history!”

“Well, long ago there were two towers, some saying the legendary Ho-Oh taking up residence in the Bell Tower to the northeast of us,” Blake explained. “Now, while how much truth there is to this legend is unknown, it has been reported throughout history that Ho-Oh has been known to frequent Ecruteak City… Sadly however, ever since the tower to our west burned down it has strangely vanished. Some say, three Pokemon were caught in the inferno and were reborn as the wandering Legendary Beasts…”

“...Raikou, Suicune, and Entei…” Ruby whispered in remembrance, this being a personal favorite bedtime story of hers. “Yes, I remember now. It was said Ho-Oh took a shine to them and rebirthed the trio with her majesty before vanishing forevermore. Even now, it waits for a pure-hearted trainer. Or so the legend says anyways.”

“Or so the legend says, yes,” Blake repeated. “I’m a historian, I don’t believe in legend. I believe in facts. It’s a romantic thing yes, but hardly factual.”

“Can’t you just believe, even a little bit?” Ruby pressed nudging herself closer to the black beauty. “I mean, come on. You said it yourself. It’s sorta romantic…”

“Are you implying anything, Ruby Rose?” Blake asked quirking a smile.

“Wait, me, no never!” Ruby stammered out with Zwei and Blake’s Glameow sharing amused looks. “That’s like, so far down on my list that… well, it’s pretty far down my list.”

“And what is higher on your list then, Ruby Rose?” Blake inquired inching closer as Ruby flushed red. The moment was soon killed by a grumble from Ruby’s stomach.

“Cookies!” Ruby said before dashing off down the street. Blake suppressed a smile, that girl would never change, would she? Tossing open a Pokeball, Blake let out one of her own Pokemon, an Elgyem. Gesturing to it, the notably alien Pokemon nodded in understanding seeming to know what it’s mistress wanted. To follow Ruby, and make sure she didn’t get herself into too much trouble. She had been known to do that from time to time. Blake sighed to herself and looked skywards, Eternatus forgive this girl. She was always so impulsive. If she only knew. 

\------

Ruby, for her part, was thinking of a strange encounter in the forests outside Ecruteak a few days prior.  _ It had been dark that night, with Ruby’s Porygon2 having to scout ahead to look for a way out. While the Virtual Pokémon had been intended to have worked in space, things never really worked out that way as it didn’t really move all that well. Oh, it worked just fine in atmospheric levels of gravity but in zero-G? Forget about it. Still, it was cute and reliable, and although there was always this lingering fear of going all Genisys on everyone it seemed to be a loyal companion to yours truly. _

_ “Ugh, I hate the dark…” Ruby muttered to herself her flashlight flickering on and off. She drew her cloak closer to herself, strange shapes moving about in the darkness. Noctowl hooted their songs somewhere just out of sight. “...come on Porygon, get back here. I’m starting to get real freaked right about now!” _

_ She let out a yelp as something came into view, only to calm herself upon realizing it was just a Sawsbuck. The deer-like Pokemon blinked at her, before it thundered off into the forest. Ruby groaned as she slid up against a rock, this was just not her night. Shivering again, Ruby drew her cloak closer to herself only to let out a yelp of fear as Porygon2 came flying out of the woods. It smashed itself up against a rock, floating weakly in midair as one very angry Ursaring came stomping out of the forest. Ruby reacted and ordered a Thunderbolt. _

_ That only seemed to make the Ursaring angry, and it let out a roar of rage as it charged at Ruby claws beared. Then something… something leaped out of the darkness and slammed into Ursaring with the force of a typhoon. Giga Impact, Ruby could only guess. The creature, even in the low light, obviously bore blue far, mattered with scars and an ear nipped off. It clearly had been through many battles. Nervously, Ruby went for her Pokedex only to get an ???. Whatever this creature was, it was a completely unknown species. For a brief moment, Ruby wondered if this was one of those Ultra Beasts she’d been hearing about over in Alola. Fear flashed through her, had she traded one monster for another? Then she saw the look in the new creature’s eyes, a soothing protectiveness. It was almost, in some ways, like a knight in shining armor. _

_ Hitting Ursaring with a powerful Iron Head attack, the creature ...ahem, beared its fangs. Sorry there, Ruby’s inner Xiao Long showed for a moment there. Porygon2 surged forwards and Zen Headbutted Ursaring before his new battle mate sent it the bear flying with a charged up Moonblast.  _

_ The creature gave her one last glance to see if she was alright before wandering back off into the deep dark woods. And it left Ruby wondering: “...what was that?”  _ To this day, Ruby had never quite figured out what she saw those long and lonely nights ago. Was it one of the legendary beasts, wandering through the woodlands? 

Could she have been witness to one of the three Legendaries who roamed Johto’s wilds dispensing justice when needed? Would anyone believe her if she ever spoke of the incident? Should she even do so? While it was possible the unknown Pokemon was long gone, even the slightest rumors of a Legendary could have trainers combing the forest from top to bottom and disturbing the natural workings of it. Nobody who lived there would be even able to get the slightest form of peace. So lost in her own thoughts was she, that she failed to notice the girl striding into her path. It was only the angry shout that finally brought the young Rose back to reality.

“Watch where you’re going, you dolt!” the enraged shriek pierced Ruby’s ears, and she staggered back like she’d been hit with a Perish Song. The girl was at least Blake’s age, and obviously came from one of those ‘well to do’ families, the ones Ruby knew went to PokeTech and the like. Her dress style was conservative, and while it made her look a bit like a dress-up doll in some ways it still did her plenty of favors. Her pale, icy blue eyes would have continued the look, but her expression essentially ruined it.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Ruby apologized frantically. “I was just thinking about some things and I didn’t see you! Look, you go your own way, and I can go mine and maybe we can go on about our business okay?”

“Oh no, your ditziness is your own fault, so really, you should-”

“Well, hey it’s not my fault you didn’t look where you were going either!” Ruby snorted and here the young woman whirled on the Patch native.

“And  what's  _ that _ supposed to mean?” the white-haired woman sneered, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. Her heels clacked against the cobblestone as she approached Ruby. By this point, both Blake had arrived with Elgyem pointing frantically at the developing situations. The little lights on his forehead flashed wildly. “Oh no, there’s only one way to avenge this insult and that’s with a proper Pokemon battle.”

“I-I mean, do we really have to do this? This seems… excessive,” Ruby said trying to defuse the situation. “It was just a simple mistake, honest! Now look, I love a good battle as much as the next girl but-”

“Then don’t be a coward and send out your first Pokemon!” Ruby’s new ‘friend barked.

Blake sighed.  _ “You do have a way of making friends don’t you?”  _ she thought before saying: “Leave her alone Schnee. Ruby was just passing through. No need to accost her. She's only trying to be nice!

“She's a hazard to my health! She got in my way!” the now-named Schnee shouted stamping her foot.

“And is that any crime?” Blake asked raising an eyebrow. “Then again, I suppose the Schnee Breeding Company knows a thing or two about crime. It’s been long rumored for controversial labor practices and having contact with several shady business partners including those of Team Rocket. Of course, this doesn’t really matter to Daddy’s Little Princess does it?”

“OH SHUT UP!” ‘Schnee’ shouted. “What do you know? Out of the way, and let me take care of business here!”

“Sorry Blake,” Ruby apologized enlarging a Pokeball. “I’ll see if I can knock the wind out of her sails. I bumped into her, I have to take care of my own mess. ...Um, hey, you don’t happen to know a good referee do you?” she asked sheepishly. 

As it happened…

“This will be a three on three battle between Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee,” Blake said as a crowd rapidly began to gather in the square. The air was thick with tension, and already bets were being placed. The name ‘Rose’ was muttered a few times in recognition, causing Ruby to flush as the crowd all looked at her. “There is no time limit, and official Pokemon League rules do apply. Play fairly.”

If Ruby didn’t know better, she could have sworn this last part of the statement was directed at Weiss, who growled in a completely unladylike fashion. She swallowed, what had she gotten herself into? Then she heard her mother and her sister’s voices in her head. Right, never back down from a challenge and never surrender. That was their way. No hesitation. Kissing a Pokeball, she tossed it with a cry of: [ “Zwei, to the battlefront!” ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yStEOodPgYk)

“Oh please, you’re such a kid,” Weiss grumbled rubbing her forehead. Doing a proper curtsy as any lady should -though calling her a lady by this point was debatable if you asked Ruby- she tossed a Pokeball of her own. “Vulpix, stage and spotlight!”

Ruby blinked. That… that didn’t look like any normal Vulpix she’d ever seen, was it a special shiny variant? Like the ones she’d been hearing so much about? Personally, if you asked Ruby she didn’t see the point. A Shiny Pokemon was just another Pokemon, no stat boosts or anything. It was just bragging rights. Figured Daddy’s Little Princess had the best of the best, really…

“...really Weiss, a shiny? That’s showing off innit?” Ruby said dully, rather unimpressed by any of this whole song and dance routine. The white vulpix pranced around the little square, six little tails displayed. 

“Oh, you uneducated little kid,” Weiss said wagging her finger and Ruby blinked. Was Vulpix following that? She was! Oh, good grief! This was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! “Hah, shows what you know. Guess mommy didn’t teach you a thing about regional variants did she? This is an Alolan Vulpix, so shows what you know!”

Ruby wanted to facepalm even as she raised her dex to hopefully get some info on this one. Well, it was a Vulpix so it should be in the databanks. But she felt so embarrassed with herself, her mother had maybe once or twice mentioned regional variants.  **_“While young, it has six gorgeous tails. When it grows, several new tails are sprouted. After long years in the ever-snowcapped mountains of Alola, this Vulpix has gained power over ice. It exhales air colder than -58 degrees Fahrenheit. Elderly people in Alola call this Pokémon by an older name—Keokeo. In hot weather, this Pokémon will make ice shards with its tails and spray them around to cool itself off. If you observe its curly hairs through a microscope, you'll see small ice particles springing up.”_ **

_ “From fire to ice, looks like I’ll have to change my strategy…Figures the Snow Princess would have an ice type, really…”  _ Ruby thought before gesturing to Zwei who stamped his feet. Crackles of yellow electricity emanated from the dog-like Pokemon like waves, and Vulpix’s eyes widened before they glowed an ominous shade.

Zwei began to stagger about, and in a fit of confusion made his own thunderbolt whirl back on himself. Ruby groaned and sank to the ground even as Zwei was sent flying into the side of a building by an ice beam. This was just plain humiliating. And as if to add insult to injury, Weiss lectured her, still doing that infuriating little finger wag. “Don’t you get it, your Pokemon is built for one thing and one thing only. Taking down flying and steel types. You need to branch out more!”

“I seem to be doing well so far, Snow Princess,” Ruby said showing off her three badges. Weiss smirked and showed off four. That really did it, as Ruby was now steaming and seeing red. Stamping a foot in frustration, she ordered: “Zwei, get your butt off the floor and take her down!”

Vulpix blinked never even having time to charge up another Ice Beam before Zwei bit down into her fur with an audible crunch. Several of the crowd members winced before Vulpix got her own back. Payback time was in session, it seemed as Vulpix’s eyes glowed and Zwei let out a howl of pain. Weiss smirked. “Ready to give up yet?”

Ruby’s response was to snap her fingers and Zwei let out a loud bark. The vulpix in front of him whimpered a little in fear. She cringed hiding behind Weiss’s legs. Soon after that, she was going right back to her ball. “See, I can play a little dirty as well!” Ruby smirked.

“Vulpix still isn’t out of the fight, and I’ve still got more tricks up my sleeve kid,” Weiss said. “You really think you’re going to get that badge? Morty doesn’t let kids walk all over him, and if you ask me, you should just go run home to mommy. Grim Grinning Ghosts are scary after all…” she trailed off with a teasing, and absolutely infuriating smirk releasing an Electrode. The massive inverted Pokeball grinned menacingly. The very air seemed to crackle at its presence. Ruby swallowed, knowing the Pokemon by it’s well earned ‘Bomb Ball’ nickname.

Electrode often ate electricity in the atmosphere, you see. And on days when lightning struck one could see this Pokémon exploding all over the place after gorging itself on too much electricity. For these reasons, power plants considered them quite the pest, and to make matters worse when bloated these Pokemon drifted on the winds. They were considered hazards all over the world. An explosive Pokemon, Ruby chuckled. Fitting for Weiss’ temperament. Not that she said this aloud of course. Wisely, she chose the normal typed Porygon2 for this battle. A few oohs and aahs came from the crowd.

“Smart,” Weiss appraised with Blake mentally echoing this assessment. “...but ultimately futile. Electrode, Rollout!”

The ball soon became a spinning dervish of death, as like one massive bowling ball the creature rolled towards Porygon2. Ruby reacted, and fast. “Zen Headbutt!” she shouted and Porygon2 rushed towards its foe.

Weiss was soon to react. “Explosion!”

A massive fireball engulfed the battlefield and when the smoke finally cleared, both trainers recalled their Pokemon. Now it was Honedge left against that damnable Vulpix and some unknown Pokemon. This… Ruby mused, was not good. Not good at all. Biting her nails, she readied herself for whatever came next.  _ “What would Yang do? ...Oh, I suppose let Jolteon shock, shock, and more shock without much of a plan. ...Okay, not looking for Yang for advice here.” _

Weiss blinked at the sword-based ghost type. She nervously went for her Dex.  **_“Apparently this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force. If anyone were to grab its hilt, it would drain it completely.”_ **

Weiss looked freaked while Honedge hummed angerily. Not all of them did that, just a few bad eggs! Trained Honedge restrained themselves, the nerve of that machine! Did all it do was just hand out insults? ...Oh well, like trainer like Dex he supposed. Oh well, he supposed he could stomach it for the look on that bratty girl’s face. He readied himself for battle. Two opponents, yeah he could do this. First off, -and Honedge would have laughed if he could- was a Galarian version of the Weezing, looking exactly like a factory billowing smoke. Fitting enough he supposed for the daughter of a tycoon. Ruby was already holding back giggles, and Honedge heard the words: “Oh my Arceus, it looks like a bong!”

That did nothing to improve Weiss’ mood. Honedge pointed himself at Weezing like a razor blade and rocketed towards the Poison Gas Pokémon. Slice and dice it went, the aerial ace cutting through the noxious gases. Weezing responded with a sludge bomb, and Honedge fell to the ground with a clatter, Ruby racing to pull it free.

Honedge rang out with a sound, and Weiss raced to cover whatever passed for ears in Weezing. Then Honedge recoiled in pain, poisoned by the sludge bomb before he was blasted by a pure Venoshock. The move’s already devastating power had been doubled by the prior poisoning, and there Honedge went down for the count.

“Trainer Ruby Rose’s Pokemon are all unconscious, and Weiss Schnee is the winner,” Blake said as Ruby cradled Honedge in her arms. She told, whispered that he did well. “Please deposit the appropriate amount of Pokedollars in the victor’s bank account.

As Ruby did so, she glared at Weiss. “That was a dirty trick, Schnee.”

“Nope, that was a victory. No hesitation. Morty will do worse. I suggest you develop a strategy that equals more than just charging in blindly you dunce,” Weiss sniffed head held high as the crowd parted. “Toodles!”

\------

As she often did, Ruby resorted to stress eating after a loss. Curled up in a warm armchair at the Pokemon Center, she awaited for Nurse Joy’s return. Nibbling away at cookie after cookie, the fire crackled warmly next to her. “Damn Ice Queens and their haughtiness. I mean, why did she have to rub it in my face, y’know?”

Blake’s Glameow rubbed against her legs in attentive manner. Ruby sighed and allowed the fancy cat-like Pokemon to climb up on her. “Yes, yes I know she’s the daughter of Jacques Schnee, but does she have to be so mean? I mean… HEY!”

Glameow had stolen one of her cookies and had made off with it. Gullible humans, she thought with a smirk. Ruby hung her head and murmured: “Cookie-Chan no…” with tears streaming comically down her face.

“It’s just one loss,” Blake said sitting right down next to her, a Yamask floating above her head. “Yeah, I’ll agree Miss Schnee needs the wind knocked out of her sails but it’s just one loss. You’ll probably get a chance to battle her again later, right?”

“I know… I know, it’s just the principle of the thing!” Ruby ranted complete with hand gestures. She sighed and muttered: “...My mom would never have suffered such a humiliating defeat!”

“Yes, well, you’re not your mom are you?” Blake said.

“Clearly…” Ruby muttered in distaste. “Way to rub it in Blake…”

“What I mean is, well maybe you should stop trying to be your mom so much, you know?” Blake explained.

“And what’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?” Ruby asked grumpily sounding frighteningly like Weiss from earlier. Not that Blake would ever say this aloud, of course. “My mom… she’s like Super Mom y’know? She never loses, never hesitates at anything!”

“Oh, surely she lost at one point or another,” Blake commented. “I mean, no offense but nobody just starts out ‘that good’ no matter who they may be related to. They have to… ahem, if you pardon the use of a frankly poor meme ‘get gud’ really.”

“Really Blake? Really?” Ruby asked fixing her friend with a disappointed stare. “That old line?”

Blake waved her off. “You know what I mean. Your mom started off as a beginner, just like you did. She made mistakes just like you did, you know it and I know it. So stop lying to yourself. And quite honestly, don’t worry about Schnee. Someone will give her a wake-up call sooner or later. If not you, someone else. Don’t you have that sister? Maybe she can kick Schnee’s ass or something!”

“Yeah, Yang’s off in Alola at the moment so I don’t think that she…” Ruby said before she smacked Blake around the back of the head. “And no swearing!”

Here she held out a jar and now here Blake was the one fixing her friend with a stare. “...You still have that thing?” she asked blankly before Ruby’s glare tightened. Fishing some money out of her purse, she dropped it in with a mutter of: “Fine fine, I swear you’re all just scamming this out of us Red…”

Ruby’s innocent look did absolutely nothing to help her case.

“....but much as I hate to admit it, like really loathe to admit it Weiss has a point,” Ruby grumbled.

“We’re calling her by her first name now?” Blake asked. “...I thought we were just going to keep on calling her Schnee?”

“My mom raised me to be polite to everyone, no matter how much they may or may not deserve it,” Ruby affirmed. “What’s it with you and Weiss anyways? I know she’s rude, but you sound as if you’ve got something personal against her really…”

“She’s a Schnee, do I need to say any more on the matter?” Blake responded and indeed she did say nothing more on the matter.

“...Just curious,” Ruby admitted before she changed subjects. Pulling out a pen and pencil, she began doodling something on her notepad. Her hand was like lightning as she went to work scribbling on the page and recalling her memories of the event. Barely looking up at her friend, she continued. She spoke in a soft hushed whispered tone, even as she still drew the beast from before. “Hey Blake, you’re an expert on local lore right? So, what do you make of this?”

“Interesting…” Blake breathed. Her eyes widened, if not really noticeably as she saw what began to take shape. Watching Ruby’s hands at work, she saw the canid creature began to come to life on the page. 

“Is it Suicune or something, cause I saw this… saw this on a mural, yeah that’s it and I got curious!” Ruby babbled.

Blake narrowed her eyes, Ruby was always a bad liar. But very well, she’d let her keep her little secret. “...I… I don’t think so, no…” Blake murmured as she took the notepad out of her friend’s hands. “See, this is actually really interesting see, these lines and this shape… it’s all wrong. Maybe it’s an artistic interpretation, but I haven’t seen a Pokemon, or at least any Suicune that ever looked like this…”

Ruby’s eyes were the next to widen...


	2. 2: Thunder and Ice (Queens)

Weiss Schnee was not a happy trainer, not one bit. As night turned to day her mood had scarcely improved. Even venting off some of her frustrations by battling a few newbie trainers into the ground did nothing for her mood. They weren’t even actual challenges! With a sigh, she tossed her empty drink can into the trash bin behind her, hearing it clatter as it landed. With a soft little smile, she watched as her vulpix clambered up to her, feet dangling off the bench for a moment before the fox was in her lap. Her smile was soon to fade.

“Ugh, I can’t believe that dolt!” Weiss nearly screamed her thoughts still on Ruby. “And she calls herself a Rose! I thought that family actually put up more of a challenge! I swear, she must have been dropped on her head as a child or something…”

A certain vulpix gave her a look, one Weiss wasn’t really fazed by. Snowpea knew her trainer well enough she supposed. She’d come around… eventually. The girl was, well the human phrase for it was stubborn really. Yeah, that fit her. Stubborn as a Mudbray, not really changing her views until why she was wrong was laid all out in front of her. Personally, Snowpea rather liked that Ruby girl, she didn’t see the actual problem. Okay, yeah, sure she and her teammates trounced her but all the same she was… oh, what was the word? Energetic? Yeah, that fit.

Snowpea yawned and laid herself in Weiss’ lap, soaking up the sun as her mistress went through her fur with a brush. Oh yes, this was the life, Snowpea mused as Weiss evened out every curl and tangle. Let it never be said after a battle that she didn’t mind the pampering. Well, if there was one thing Weiss knew how to do aside from battle and bitch it was pamper her. “Well, at least you’re consistent,” Snowpea heard her mistress utter. “Seriously, these last few trainers have been… well, they’re really not worth my time are they? There are better ways for you to stretch your legs!”

“Well, you’re a hostile little girl, aren’t you?” a woman’s voice said as she walked up, and Weiss looked up. One of the local kimono-clad girls who tended to the Bell Tower was looking directly at her. Her expression could only be described as a mixture of disgust and disappointment. Weiss flinched, she… no, that expression reminded her far too much of him.

“Lemme guess, one of those trainers I beat was your little girl, and then she went whining to you right?” Weiss spat back. “Well, if that’s the case my respect for you is dropping already. Let her fight her own battles, not encourage her to run to mommy when things get tough.”

The ice-loving trainer laughed bitterly. Mothers always managed to disappoint their daughters anyhow, Weiss thought to herself. Better for a little girl to face that reality now than somewhere years down the road. That was the way of things, grow up fast and learn from your experiences. 

“So I see…” the kimono woman said to herself looking at Weiss with another expression, this time one of pity. Weiss hated it, she didn’t need to be looked at like she was some broken doll! “Is that really your view of the world? What a sad life you must lead…”

“More like a realistic one,” Weiss challenges. “I’ve learned, and I’ve had to grow up a bit faster than most teenagers my age really. What’s your point?” 

“Just an observation really,” the kimono woman remarks. “But, and I do apologize in advance, if you call yourself an adult answer me this. If… if this is the case are you sure you’re ready to face the world? The world doesn’t take kindly to spoiled little girls.”

The response is out of Weiss’s mouth before she can help herself. “How dare you!?!” she hisses out. “How dare you think you know me!”

“You’re right,” the kimono woman says with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know you, and I can’t pretend to. But I am also not the one acting like a child in public and making a scene.”

That much was true given now all eyes were now on them. Snowpea was inclined to actually agree with the kimono woman, personally. The vulpix wasn’t quite so enamored with her mistress’ personality either. Snowpea was actually rather tired of Weiss’ attitude and for her part, thought it high time someone chewed her out for it. She’d been putting up with it ever since Willow handed her to Weiss, since day one. She could tolerate it when she had to, yes, but even Snowpea’s patience had its limits. Well, if this woman could make Weiss see sense or at least give her an attitude adjustment, more power to her. 

Snowpea peered out at the woman’s Jolteon, and gave an awkward little wave. The electric-type didn’t look quite so keen to return it. Not that Snowpea could blame him, she supposed. Not when her mistress was so incredibly rude. The vulpix could feel the power radiating off the jolteon, the air heavy with electricity. It was clearly well trained. Snowpea hoped her mistress recognized this and backed off before she did anything too stupid. She’d heard about these kimono girls as well actually, the ones that tended to the Bell Tower. They watched and waited for Ho-Oh and her beasts, guarding the tower against intruders. It was a duty passed down through generations, and one they took with the utmost seriousness. 

Snowpea hoped her mistress knew what she was getting herself into. Like, she _severely_ hoped. “Oh well, if that’s the case why don’t you prove it? Prove your standing through a battle, it’s the only proper way to settle things correct?”

Snowpea facepawed. _“Oh well, a fox can dream can’t she…?”_

“Very well then, if that’s what you want…” the kimono woman said motioning for Jolteon to join her by her side. The crowds began to clear away, giving the two their space. “Shall we begin? My Jolteon against your Keokeo?”

“Gladly,” Weiss replied snapping her fingers as Snowpea leaped off the bench landing next to her. “Snowpea, if you would dear start things off with an Aurora Beam!”

A blast of lasers erupted from the Alolan borne vulpix’s mouth, and her opponent hummed a static charge beginning to build up. Jolteon’s fur began to stand on end as he ran alongside a wall, his paws hitting stonework as the beam carved a path behind him, before the lightning fox did a backflip off the wall and landed behind Snowpea.

Snowpea looked left to right and swore quietly under her breath in Poke. Where did he go? Then she felt it, her snow-white fur beginning to stand on end from the electricity in the air. She heard a call of: “Jolteon, Pin Missile!”

The Lightning Pokémon’s fur shot out like darts, and Snowpea let out yelps of pain. She couldn’t take moves like that, not for long. She sighed to herself as she regained her bearings. Weiss, really? Learn when you were over your head in a battle. Really now, this was just pointless! All of this was just to avenge your wounded pride! She broke out into a run, dodging pin missile after pin missile before she shared a look with Weiss. “Confuse it, Snowpea! You know what to do!”

Snowpea smirked almost mischievously, with a trace of devilry. Her eyes began to glow a light orange as she leaped over a bench. Her eyes met Jolteon’s own, and the Lightning Pokémon staggered about in a confused manner. 

“Clever,” the kimono girl remarked tossing a persim berry to her Pokemon. “So you’re not just all talk and no shock! Let’s see how long you can keep that up. Thunderbolt, Jolteon!”

Weiss twitched at the pun before her eyes widened. The skies lit up with jagged bolts of lightning as the Lightning Pokémon lived up to his name. Jolts of electricity followed Snowpea’s every step, as she darted from left to right. One shock and it was all over, she knew the Jolteon was miles ahead of her in power. So, she had to outfox him. Leaping off a tree before it was scorched to cinders, she hit Jolteon with another aurora beam. Jolteon staggered even as Snowpea flipped over him and landed behind him. The Lightning Pokémon let out a growl.

_“You’re good kid,”_ he noted, even as the battle progressed into the nearby forest. Both trainers ran after their respective Pokemon, sliding down a hill to a nearby creek bed. Applin and butterfree scattered in lue of the approaching storm. The sun rose high into the sky, filtering in through the trees and casting shadows over the battleground. Even through the thick and heavy trees, the Bell Tower could be seen rising up over the woodland. _“Shame you just got stuck with a lousy trainer.”_

_“Oh well, Weiss needed a wake-up call anyways,”_ Snowpea replied, another Thunderbolt scorching a nearby tree. _“Maybe battling with your mistress will be exactly that!”_

_“Oh, so you’re planning to lose?”_ Jolteon replied in turn a hint of surprise in his voice. _“Throw the match?”_

_“Now when did I say anything like that?”_ Snowpea asked as she darted across some rocks, using them as stepping stones over the water. _“Deliberately losing the match! How disgraceful! Oh no, if I lose this match I plan to go down fighting!”_

Jolteon let out a huff of approval even as Weiss ordered Snowpea to throw another Aurora Beam his way. His eyes glowed, and Snowpea felt her attacks hit… something. Not a something as in a Pokemon though. She groaned, a lightscreen maneuver. Of course. She should have expected that, well trained as this Jolteon was. Her eyes widened as pin missiles came her way, and she darted low to the ground. Dirt and mud was kicked up even as Snowpea slid along the creek bed. Her eyes glowed again. Payback time.

Jolteon staggered again as all the damage he’d done to Snowpea was returned in full. Cute, real cute. Oh well, guess that meant it was time to break out the heavy artillery. Right after grabbing a sitrus berry off a nearby branch -chock one up to improvisation skills!- he let the little vulpix have it. She barely had any warning, the static charge in the air seeming to fade. Only for a brief moment before Jolteon’s hair stood on end and he let loose with a ball of pure lightning.

Snowpea found herself blasted through the trees, landing with a toss and a tumble near a rock. Her fur was matted and covered in bruises. Her eyelids began to grow heavy, and soon the warmth of the Pokeball rushed up to greet her. 

Weiss clutched Snowpea’s personal Luxury Ball in hand, sighing to herself. She looked and saw the kimono girl walking up to her. 

“Come to gloat?” she asked snidely before reaching into her purse. Oh well, best to accept defeat like a woman. “Alright, how much do I have to pay you?”

“Absolutely nothing,” the kimono girl said and Weiss’ anger rose. She just had her Jolteon beat her precious pea around like it was nothing and she didn’t even smirk! She didn’t even look triumphant damn her, she just was shaking her head pitiably at Weiss. That damnable woman. “Defeating you isn’t even all that glorious really.”

“EXCUSE ME!?!” Weiss erupted, a steaming cauldron of indignant rage. She dared? “I AM A SCHNEE! DEFEATING ME SHOULD BE A PLEASURE!”

“Your reaction proves my point exactly,” the kimono girl said. “You are but a child in a woman’s world, and you have yet to grow up despite what you claim. I can only wish you the best of luck from here on out. And for your Pokemon…” she said handing Weiss some berries before walking off. 

Weiss was left seething and her mood hardly improved even after healing up Snowpea. She was in the middle of a rant that the vulpix had mostly tuned out in favor of looking at her nails. What, don’t look at her like that. Even Snowpea liked to feel pretty from time to time! Though one thing still bothered her. No, it wasn’t the loss, she knew that was a likelihood from the beginning of the battle. It was more of a curiosity.

“...And another thing, she doesn’t even accept payment when I’m supposed to offer it to her? I mean, I could pay her tons of money, I’m a Schnee!” Weiss continued on. Snowpea rolled her eyes.

_“She said it herself, she wasn’t trying to get money from you,”_ the alolan ice type remarked. _“She was trying to teach you a lesson. I apologize Mistress, but I’m not entirely sure it took.”_

Weiss whirled around to look Snowpea in the eye. “What's _that_ supposed to mean?”

_“Forgive me for being so bold Mistress, but I think you need to hear this. Like, you really need to,”_ Snowpea spoke up. _“All due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is matched only by your poor attitude.”_

“How dare you!” Weiss hissed at Snowpea who to her credit didn’t even flinch.

_“My point exactly,”_ Snowpea remarked. _“You are going to get nowhere in life if you keep on treating others if they are beneath you. That’s your father talking, not you.”_

Here, Weiss let out a small growl. Snowpea ignored it and continued. Her voice softened. _“...I’ve seen you Weiss, right before we left. Back in Snowpoint_ _City. You were a sweet girl. What happened?”_

“You want to know what happened?” Weiss asked her voice wavering. For a moment, she sounded close to tears before her voice hardened once more. The Ice Queen of the Schnee was back. “My father happened. He… well, you know what he did. Mother won’t stand up to him, and Whitley is an exact clone of daddy dearest. And Winter escaped and went off to Kanto to join the military. Meaning I had to do something. My father was _not_ the start of our name, and I _refuse_ to let him be the end of it. So, if I have to, I’ll carve out a new name for the Schnee name.”

Snowpea sighed. That… this was true. Her father, Jacques was one of those people right off the bat Snowpea knew not to trust. The patriarch of the Schnee family unnerved her, made her feel all sick inside. _“Still, all the same your attitude needs an… adjustment,”_ she said carefully. 

Weiss was about to give her a dirty look before realizing that only proved Snowpea’s point. She let out a sigh as Snowpea commented: _“See, you’re learning!”_

“...Drop that smug look off your face,” Weiss grumbled to herself, Snowpea smirking to herself. Weiss noticed, looking rather unamused. “It’s really rather unbecoming if you ask me.” 

So Weiss found herself wandering Ecruteak and quite honestly, she wasn’t entirely sure why she hadn’t left the city yet. She got her badge, so really she should have been on the road again. Wandering into a bookshop, which was having its sign changed out to ‘Belladonna Books’ she sighed as she flipped through the pages of a history text. 

“So the Schnee has an interest in history, who knew?” Blake remarked, and Weiss nearly yelped in shock. She certainly jumped, that was for sure. Though if asked, she would readily deny that. There was Blake, lounging in the windowsill like a Liepard, soaking up the sun. Idly, she stroked her glameow’s fur. “And here I thought it was just interest in how to be a bitch.”

“Yes, well…” Weiss grumbled. “I may be trying to have a… change of heart.”

Here Blake scoffed. “I’ll believe that when I see it. Now, are you looking to buy something or are you here just to annoy me Ice Queen?”

“You talk like you own the place,” Weiss sniped and Blake smirked.

“Yeah, that’s because I sorta do,” Blake deadpanned showing her ID. Weiss groaned, Belladonna. Right… “Also, really Schnee you should quit gaping like a Magikarp. It’s so unbecoming.”

“Well, I’m not going to just stand around here and be insulted, so…” Weiss started heading for the door.

“Most people don’t,” Blake commented flipping through a book. One, which Weiss noted was on Legendaries. A drawing of… something Weiss really hadn’t seen before lay beside her, seemingly ripped from a sketchbook. “Or are you only now just beginning to realize the irony?”

Blake took Weiss’ silence as a ‘yes’. She smirked.

“Okay, look, maybe we started off on the wrong foot,” Weiss sighed and again Blake scoffed.

“You have a gift for understatement,” Blake drawled. “Does that come naturally to you or do you just have to work at it?”

Weiss chuckled as she looked through a book of her own. Not even bothering to look at Blake, she answered: “And you have a gift for sarcasm. Do you have to work at _that_?”

Blake snorted. “Point taken. Hey, wait what are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Weiss said as she motioned for Blake to move over. She began flipping through the pages of her own book. “Helping you identify that thing.”

Blake blinked. “...How?”

“Oh come on, I’m not an idiot and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t take me for one,” Weiss whispered. “One, you’re flipping through the pages of that book like a woman possessed. So it must be important. B, that looks like it was taken from somebody’s sketchbook. So someone must have seen something, and that leaves us with only one conclusion. There’s something in the area, something new. It has to be, given someone who clearly owns a bookshop is at a loss.”

Blake was left stunned silent before she slowly regained the power of speech. Finally, she answered with a: “...I’m in hell. I’ve got to be in hell.”

  
  


\-----

  
  


_“_ Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd here we are ladies and gentlemen, at the final round of the Galarian Pokemon League. From all the way from Kalos we have Sapphire Arc, who’s fought her way all up to the top of the league just to challenge our lovely miss Summer Rose. Now now now, this battle has been long in coming, and we’ve got people all across the globe just waiting to see who comes out on top. The long-reigning champ, or the new girl? Will Summer be finally toppled from her throne? Or will she keep her crown as the Queen of Galar?”

A pint-sized Ruby had been watching throughout the night as the battle went down, and what a battle it was. Yang had been jumping for joy -or wincing if it was her mother’s- each time a Pokemon had gone down. Now, it was the finale of this matchup. Nail biting the battles had been, it had all come down to this. The crowd’s hype was at its peak, fireworks going off in powerful explosions with confetti raining down. Summer’s Scizor had just gone down from a powerful blow from Sapphire’s signature Arcanine. But it had been a double knockout, with the fire-type soon to follow collapsing from sheer exhaustion. “All or nothing,” Sapphire said with a smile. “Great battle so far.”

“Yeah, this is the most anyone’s challenged me in months,” Summer replied her tone equally polite. Her cloak, covered in sponsorships had been tossed to the side in the heat of battle. “But I am sorry Sapphire, this is as far as you go. I have two lovely daughters at home I daren’t disappoint.” 

A powerful roar shook the stadium as the crowd went truly ballistic. Summer’s signature, a powerful Salamence known only by the name ‘Red’. Another roar was soon to join it, and a blast of fire cut through the sky as Sapphire’s Charizard took the field. Twin dragons, both equally powerful and with wings extended it was clear neither would be backing down. “And I am sorry as well,” Sapphire said clutching her Pokeball. “But I have several daughters of my own who want to see me triumph.”

Ruby had climbed on top of an equally excited Taiyang to shout out: “Go Mom!” as Red launched herself at the Charizard. A brilliant flame covered the battlefield, turning a sage blue as Charizard let out a powerful Dragon Pulse.

Then, Red erupted from the flame and rocketed upwards with eyes aglow. He looped around and aimed a Draco Meteor right at Charizard. The mighty fire type dodged the powerful blast and his claws glowed with a distinctive sheen. Slice, and slice they went cutting through the air with a metallic hum. Salamence cried out in pain as the dragon’s claws cut through his scales. Yang let out a squeak of fear seeing the force behind that blow. “...No…”

Red was no so easily slowed, and retaliated with a dragon claw of his own. Then, his eyes widened as Charizard grabbed him. Red’s eyes widened, realizing this was what Sapphire had planned. She WANTED him to get close. Then he was pulled upwards by his adversary. Rocketing upwards faster and faster like he’d been launched out of a Dragapult, Charizard finally let go. Sky Drop, one of the most powerful flying type moves available. 

Mid-free fall, Red’s ace in the hole came into play as he shifted and morphed. The crowd roared at the further evolution and Charizard lost sight of him. Then he looked upwards and blinked. He hadn’t realized the moon was out tonight. But that wasn’t the moon, he soon realized. It was the Bloody Crescent, the mega-evolved form of Salamence. Red let out a shriek, the battle had only just begun. His whole body began to glow as he increased power and speed, Giga Impact was set to be let loose. 

_**KABOOM!**_ A powerful explosion filled the stadium, and both Sapphire and Summer shielded their eyes from the dust kicked up. They slid back from the force of the gale created. Finally, the dust cleared, and Summer realized Sapphire was smiling. Why, exactly was that? Then she got her answer. Since when did that charizard breathe blue fire, and have scales as black as the moonless night? Fire erupted from the mega-evolution’s nostrils, and it seemed the flames were more brilliant than usual. Blaze, of course. Add that to the Mega Charizard X’s already considerable might and Summer knew she was in for a tough battle.

Red was given a face full of fire for his troubles and tossed to the other end of the stadium. He quickly recovered and rocketed upwards with Charizard soon to follow. The sky was darted with red and blue streaks, the two powerful mega-evolutions trading mighty blow after mighty blow.

“Come on Mom, you can do this…” Ruby whispered biting her nails. Several cookie crumbs lay on a plate nearby. “Please, win this one…”

The battle actually progressed outside the stadium, and people with cameras atop Staraptors, Pidgeots and Altarias were barely keeping pace with the action. And then another Giga Impact plowed Charizard into the forest floor below. The ground was ripped up and torn, creating a deep gash, a scar in the very earth. And Charizard intended to leave a few scars of his own, hitting again and again with super effective dragon claws. He was soon blasted into the side of a rock face with a Draco Meteor for his troubles. Red, for his part, was just barely hovering off the ground it seemed, weak and near defeat. Summer smiled at Sapphire. “Well, if you defeat me, I’d say you’d earned it. Nobody’s ever driven Red this hard, gotten this far. Usually, as soon as I bring out my trump card, the battle is decided.”

“Well, we are the elite. The best of the best,” Sapphire replied. “But now it’s over.”

“So it is.” Summer said as both Charizard and Salamence rocketed towards the other. The two mighty dragons were set to meet in the middle… And then? _**KA-CRASH!**_

_**\-----** _

Ruby crashed to the floor with a yelp, pidgeys ta-tweeting their morning songs. She groaned to herself, oh she really needed to stop having such exciting memories! Yeah, she was going to feel that one tomorrow, for sure. A voltorb-themed alarm clock belted out its greeting. Ruby looked at the time and groaned, she should have been up hours ago. It was 10:00! She had sooooo been sleeping in, must have been the comfy bed the Center provided. ...wait, Ruby realized. Last she checked she’d been in front of the fireplace. So how did she…?

Her eyes widened in realization as she spied the little card on her bedside table. It was of a chibi Blake waving. Huh, that was… actually sorta sweet of her. She smiled in memory, that was a good memory. Her mom had won of course, but she’d offered for Sapphire to come and challenge her again anytime. The offer had never panned out, of course, because of Sapphire’s many children. Oh, Jaune must have been adorable at that age! Hell, come to think of it he was actually pretty cute nowadays. Not her thing, she didn’t actually swing that way, but he was enough to make her consider, at least, batting for the other side this once. Good Arceus, Pyrrha must have been so blind, like she had to be literally blind not to see what was in front of her. ...Or was it the other way around with Jaune being the dense one? Ruby was never sure at times. In any event, Pyrrha had better hurry her butt up and snatch Jaune up before someone else did!

“Morning Zwei,” Ruby said as she stroked the herdier’s head. Zwei barked in turn. “Right, really we’ve got a bit to do before we give Morty the old one two. You know, to be honest, I think we may need to go catch us another teammate before we challenge Morty. Rude as she was, Weiss is right. Hate to admit it, but she’s exactly right. Morty’s no pushover. Ghost types, yipes. Gives me the willies just thinking about even fighting them. Just _thinking!_ Oh, I’m babbling aren’t I Zwei? I am, right?”

Zwei’s expression told her all she needed to know. Ruby sighed to herself and let out a little tidbit of nervous laughter. Grabbing some moo-moo milk off her dresser, she drank the bottle dry. Wondering if there were any cookies around to go with it, Ruby spoke again.

“Okay, so yeah I was. Okay, so there’s plenty of forests around here, so it’s not like we can say we’re not spoiled for choice right?” Ruby remarked. “Still, Blake’s the smart one. As long as she’s in town, I say we make use of her right? She probably knows where all the good Pokemon are at! Well, as long as we don’t run into Ice Queen I’d say we’re good!”

  
  


\-----

  
  


“Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we’re not good,” Ruby muttered to herself as she tugged at her cloak. Standing on the other side of the bookstore was a familiar white-haired beauty. Well, of course, Ruby wasn’t going to deny how beautiful she looked. Of course, Weiss’ _attitude_ was a real turn off. “There’s Ice Queen again, seriously how unlucky can one girl be?”

“Well, I personally think you should consider yourself lucky. Very lucky, actually!” Weiss remarked with a little smile. Her eyes sparkled with arrogance and Ruby wanted to groan. Why her? Just… why her? Maybe she should go find a Mawile’s jaws to stick her head inside.

“Oh, yeah sure I’m reeeeeeaaaaalllll lucky,” Ruby drawled, Blake watching the two and readying herself to break up any potential fights. No matter how dangerous to her own life and limb they may be. “I keep on running into the most arrogant girl this side of Mount Silver!”

“Look, if you two are going to battle it out, please take it outside,” Blake remarked. Her voice was dripping with equal amounts of annoyance and sarcasm. She so did not have time for this today. “I’d really you rather not destroy my bookstore. I’d think the customers who actually came to buy something would like that very much indeed.” 

“Me battle her?” Weiss replied with a small scoff. “Oh please, we’ve already seen how that’ll turn out. I have better wastes of my time!”

Ruby looked ready to explode before she took several deep calming breaths and sighed. Grumbling to herself, she uttered: “...better wastes of your time? Why I oughta…”

“Careful dear,” Weiss snarked. “You almost sound like you want to take moi out on a date.”

“Don’t do it, Ruby,” Blake said leaning over to her friend. “That girl’s toxic!”

“Please don’t compare me with a Pokemon’s moves,” Weiss drawled. “Oh yes, real wit. You think of that one yourself?”

Blake ignored her. Ruby however didn’t. “Why are you so mean?” she huffed, stamping her foot. “Would it kill you to show a little kindness?”

“Yeah, to people I respect,” Weiss remarked. “Not to little girls!”

“You’re insufferable,” Ruby decided. “Like, really, you are!”

“And you’re incorrigible!” Weiss replied. “Love you too shortstack.”

Ruby had always been sensitive about her height, as you may have guessed. “I’m not short! I’m a growing girl! See, I drink milk!” she declared holding up the bottle of moo-moo milk. Weiss facepalmed.

“Yes yes, so you do,” she said with a complete and utter lack of enthusiasm. Weakly, she waved a little ‘hooray for Ruby Rose’ flag. “Hooray for you.” 

“See, that’s the spirit!” Ruby said seemingly missing or not caring about Weiss’ sarcasm. 

“Speaking of spirits, you thought up a strategy to defeat Morty yet?” Weiss remarked. “Or are you just going to wing it and hope for the best?”

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll, I… I…” Ruby started seemingly planning to show up Weiss with her well thought out plans until she realized she hadn’t thought up any yet. “Ah… Eh-he-heh-heh-he… Do you accept IOUs for my strategy?”

Again, Weiss facepalmed. “Ugh, you really are hopeless aren’t you dolt?” she muttered before taking a deep sigh. Should she give her a tip, trainer to trainer? Was this what Snowpea was talking about? Being nice? Oh well, it couldn’t hurt… right? Plus, maybe it would get Blake off her back. Seriously, those eyes of hers were _scary!_ It was like she knew Mean Look, and it was super-effective! 

“Oh, okay since I’m being nice and feeling generous,” Weiss remarked. “I’ll give you a tip. The forest to the south of here, it’s got a few psychic types. The way I hear it, there’s a family of Munna living out there. Go catch one! Who knows, might do you a world of good!”

Here, she tossed a spare Moon Ball from her bag to Ruby, hitting her square in the face. Blake gave her a look, and Weiss shrugged. “Well, I fully _expected_ her to catch it…”

“She’s not a herdier,” Blake remarked. “She doesn’t do fetch.”

“Good, I wouldn’t want to catch her anyhow!” Weiss said before muttering: “...even if she is cute.”

Then she was caught off-guard by Ruby hugging her. Was that a hug, or was it more of a tackle? 

“Thanks, Weiss, you’re so nice!” Ruby cheered and Weiss grimaced. Was she always this perky? 

“Yeah yeah, now get off me…” Weiss muttered to herself. “But just to be clear, this is only a one-time deal okay? Only reason I’m giving you this info okay, it’s because I’m feeling sorry for you okay?”

Blake looked unconvinced. Weiss swore she was smirking again. 

“So much for being nice…” Ruby uttered falling into a huddle on the floor, a comical raincloud of despair forming over her head.

“Because you feel sorry for her huh?” Blake remarked. “Are you sure that’s the only reason? I mean, Munna are rare Pokemon, especially in this part of the world.”

“Yes, well I just about told everyone in the store didn’t I?” Weiss sneered to cover up for her presumed mistake. “That means with any luck, everyone will catch one before her!”

“If you say so…” Blake said before shoving the Book of Legendary Pokemon back into Weiss’ hands. “Now get back to helping me catalog these okay?”

_“How’d I get roped into this again?”_ Weiss had to wonder to herself. _“If anyone tells me to ever be nice again, I’m tossing them over a cliff!”_

  
  


\-----

  
  


Ruby was still grumbling about Weiss even as she trudged into the forest, Zwei at her side as always. “Stupid Ice Queen, I’ll show her. I’ll catch myself a Munna, no a bunch of Munna! No, a Cresselia! Then I’ll sweep Morty’s gym!”

Now, which way was it to the Munna again? Oh, of course, Ice Queen hadn’t given her directions. No, she was probably expecting Ruby to get herself lost in the forest for a few days! Well, Ruby would show her! She’d only get lost in the forest for one day! 

_“You don’t think you’re being a little hard on Weiss?”_ Zwei asked. _“Okay, yes she’s rude no denying that but… well, she did give you a tip-off.”_

“Yeah, me and about everyone else in that bookstore!” Ruby remarked as she jumped down into a little riverbed. “Knowing my luck the Munna will all be caught!”

_“Hey, a tip’s a tip,”_ Zwei commented doing the Pokemon equivalent to a shrug. _“Just be grateful and don’t waste it!”_

“I don’t intend to waste it Zwei…” Ruby uttered. “Like, really, I don’t. I mean, Munna aren’t that hard to find if you know what you’re looking for. They like forest clearings and places where they can gather, so the obvious solution? Find the biggest clearing.”

Here she began climbing a tree, pulling herself up the bark with Zwei keeping watch. _“Are you really sure that’s the case? I mean, most Munna are really shy.”_

“I know that, but that’s only during the daytime when idiots like me come tromping around in their woods. I intend to wait till nightfall, and then well! We’ll see who’s laughing then eh Ice Queen?”

Zwei sweatdropped, not really sure if Ruby entirely knew what she was doing. _“If… If you say so, Mistress.”_

“Reeeeeeeealllllax,” Ruby said completely unconcerned. “And don’t worry, I’m not going to fall. You are looking at the queen of climbing trees! Back on Patch, I always used to worry my mom and dad whenever I climbed a tree. They were afraid I’d never get down!”

_“That… that’s reassuring…”_ Zwei remarked. 

“Oh, it wasn’t because they were afraid I didn’t know how to get down. They were afraid I never WANTED to get down. I like heights! I like trees!”

_“Oh,”_ Zwei remarked before he felt a ghostly chill on the back of his neck. _“Uh, Mistress I don’t want to worry you but… Um… Is it just me or do you feel cold? Please tell me it’s just me!”_

Then, Ruby saw a distinctive red glow out of the corner of her eye. The ‘tree’ she was on let out a roar and Ruby leaped off of it as it began to move about. “TREVENANT!” she shouted barely able to contain her squees. 

Did I ever mention Ruby had a warped sense of what was scary and what wasn’t? Case in point, she was now cuddling and huggling the ghost type like it was some giant plushie. 

_“...Is she always like this?”_ the Spirit of the Forest had to ask while Ruby hugged him tightly. Zwei could only nod. 

_“Basically, yeah,”_ Zwei nodded in turn. _“You get used to her… Mostly.”_

Trevenant could only hope that was the case, as honestly, this one was worse than those hippy tree huggers! Could someone just catch him in a Pokeball right now and end this humiliation? Then again, he thought as he nibbled away at a razz berry and then a nanab this… this wasn’t so bad. It was a few moments later a very smug Ruby walked away with one more Pokemon in hand. Yeah, she had this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so yeah, any problems people had with the first chapter I aimed to fix here. Like, say... the battles being lackluster. Well, here you go. I tried to capture that tension and heartstopping raw power in a battle of Pokemon here. Also, amped up the humor a little. Case in point? That ending, and the snarkery of everyone involved in this chapter.
> 
> So please, do tell me how I'm doing and where to improve. I do love that. This chapter was made via feedback, and I like to see what people want and if I can use it somehow.


	3. 3: A (K)Night in the Woods

So yeah, that was that for the most part. Ruby continued into the deep darkened woods, a new Pokemon in hand. Boy, this one was really going to freak her mother out. Actually, Ruby didn’t entirely understand why _she_ wasn’t freaking out about having a Trevenant on her team. Everyone had heard the stories. Don’t go off into the woods alone, or a Trevenant would get you and steal your soul! They never liked intruders in their woods really. It was just one of those… things.

Yeah, Summer like her daughter didn’t really have this great love for ghost types. That was apparently Raven’s thing, but then again Raven was always… odd. Of course, more often than not her opinion really didn’t matter given the woman ran out on the household when she was young. Yang had always made up stories about how Raven was some sort of super-secret agent for the world police or something like that, but Ruby knew better. Ruby knew Yang was always just telling herself that to keep away the real truth. Raven had just run out on her dad because she couldn’t handle an actual relationship, nor a kid.

Did I mention Ruby was very bitter about all of this? Huh, I could have sworn I did. Annnnnnnnnnnyways, about the only good thing Raven ever did -aside from giving Ruby an awesome big sis- for the family was leaving behind a Yamper egg. Said it’d protect Yang. Not that it was really awesome in retrospect, given Uncle Qrow could very easily do the same thing. And probably get them a much higher quality egg, actually, given he lived for breeding. It was where she got her Zwei, actually! Not that she minded Eins, not really. After all, what wasn’t cool about a cute little electric type doggy?

But yeah, Zwei was totally much cooler! Totally. After all, he had three forms and Eins only had two! So that made him much cooler by default! And oh Arceus, she was off rambling again wasn’t she? So yeah, here Ruby was with a new Trevenant in hand… er ball actually and pretty much walking around a deep dark forest from a tip off via an ice queen hoping to find a Munna. Okay, oh wow she really needed to get her priorities straight. Like, she could have at least brought smores! ...I guess not that it mattered anyways given she didn’t have a fire-type with her to cook them with. So, Ruby supposed the whole smore thing was really a moot point. Like, hideously moot.

Yeah, maybe it was the whole Guardian of the Forest thing that made Trevenant cool. Like, yeah that had to be it. Besides, as it turned out he was a total sweetheart. Ruby literally had him eating out of the palm of her hand! Why would he feel the need to steal her soul then? He had berries! Hah, and Yang said she needed to make new friends to grow up. A, she had her Pokemon, and B, she drank milk! 

Though, yeah, I guess Blake was sorta cool. Okay, maybe really cool. After all, she ran a bookshop and she was nicer than Ice Queen. Ruby vaguely imagined her older sister making a Weiss Queen pun. Oh dear heavens, now she just made one! So yeah, Blake was a friend, she was cool. And then there was Weiss Queen -oh dear Arceus, not again! She was becoming infeeecccctttteeedddd!- which was her rival. So I guess that meant she had a friend and a half? Or however that worked really.

So, um okay where was she? Oh yeah, walking down long-forgotten forest trails in hopes of finding a Munna. Goddamnit, everyone had probably already beat her to them, Ruby reasoned. That was just the way her luck seemingly worked, really… Good grief, at this rate she’d never be able to challenge the Elite Four. Reverse World, they’d probably just laugh her right out of the room! She had to be the most pathetic Pokemon Trainer in existence…

No, she really had to stop that. Like, she really did. Even now she could hear a voice -sounding suspiciously like her older sis- telling her that was just stinkin’ thinkin’. She’d made it this far, so clearly she was better than some other trainers. Yeah, she’d beaten Whitney and that damnable Miltank so she was over the first real hurdle. Surely, Morty had to be less challenging than something with Milk Drink, Attract and Rollout! Honestly, Ruby really had nightmares thinking of that thing. Now that cow was _truly_ scary. Ghost types, hah and pfft! After dealing with Whitney, she was ready to face the world! Heeeeeeeeeyyyy now, maybe _she_ should get a Miltank and sic it on the next gym, now wouldn’t that be fun?

Oh, was that an evil cackle? Surely not! Oh yeah, it was. Definitely an evil cackle. Oh dear, was she on her way to becoming a supervillain? Maybe. Just maybe. Or, at least a woman with a plan on how to conquer all. These two things were not mutually exclusive, after all. Or at least, they shouldn’t be… Huh, okay then, so that was the next thing on her to do list. Her to capture list? Was that technically more accurate? Yeah, it probably was, Ruby reasoned. 

Yeah, grab a Miltank and take it to the next gym if and when it was possible. She bet she even knew where to get one. She could just take a shortcut through the forest, and wind up on Route 38. It was a bit out of the way, but it was worth it. All for the Miltank, yeeeeeeeaaaahhhh. Ruby sometimes amazed herself with her own genius. And hey, given it was basically near the MooMoo farm, she could probably grab a couple bottles of MooMoo milk as well. Or actually, with a Miltank she could skip the farm and just get it straight from the source. How frugal. 

Problem, which way was Route 38? Oh great, she was lost in the forest. So, business as usual then eh? It couldn’t _just_ be like Galar and the Wild Areas right? Like, there were only ten routes and the Wild Areas were all just big open spaces with plenty of areas to get your bearings. 

Well, assuming you didn’t fall into a hole and wind up in someone’s den. And then wind up running like Palkia herself was after you after you’d disturbed someone’s nap time. Yeeeeeah, that had happened a few more times than Ruby had cared to admit. 

Releasing Porygon2, she directed it upwards and asked for it to find the nearest way out of here. Once she found a route, she’d be able to get back to Ecruteak City. Her stomach grumbled. Or at least find a bite to eat... 

Well, nothing for it, she supposed as she jumped down into a riverbed, a small brook leading westwards. The creak trickled down towards a strangely foggy lake, the chilly evening air starting to engulf the forest and wrap around Ruby Rose like… well, not like a blanket she supposed. Like a not blanket, or whatever you called it. Now, Ruby wasn’t entirely sure why but she found herself drawn to that little lake. Something… something called to her out in the mist, and she released her sawsbuck, the red leaves already starting to appear on her mother’s gift. 

Now, of course, Ruby had sputtered denials but neither her mother nor Uncle Qrow would let her leave the house without carrying two Pokemon from them. Even if Zwei was more than enough. So yeah, while Sawsbuck wasn’t a very competitive Pokemon in any respect, it worked as a support Pokemon, for lack of a better term. A good healer thanks to Aromatherapy and thanks to his Flash move, a good light for when all other lights went out.

Sawsbuck let out a huff and a grunt as something shimmered beyond the lake, and then something moved in the wilderness beyond. A dark shadow, barely visible if not for that flash. It moved too quickly to be identified, all Ruby could make out was its canid form. A thought struck her, was it the same Pokemon that had saved her from that Ursaring? Had she accidently woke it up from its nap? No, canid Pokemon were generally the living it up in the night life types, chances are it was already awake. Still, all the same, she wished she’d gotten a better look at it… If only to thank it for saving her and all that.

Ruby continued moving forwards, wading into the water and letting out a groan. Oh, her boots were going to be ruined by the end of this, she just knew it. Oh great, now she was sounding like Weiss Queen. Oh gaaawwwwd, there she went again with that horrible pun! Yang was rubbing off on her. YANG WAS RUBBING OFF ON HER! Yeah, now she just wanted to crawl inside a hole and die. 

In any event, Ruby made it to the strange glow, and picked up the object in question. Odd, seemed to be some sort of stone really. Or a crystal, actually… Then she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. Ruby’s eyes widened, was that creature back? Oh god, had she stolen something from its den? Then a low growl was heard as something pitch black, with twin massive horns stepped out of the bushes. Ruby’s blood ran cold, ironic given what she was faced with.

**_“Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon. The evolved form of Houndour. Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the Grim Reaper. The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever.”_ **

Needless to say, the PokeDex entry didn’t help to quell Ruby’s nerves. Houndoom let out a snarl and then it lunged at Ruby. Sawsbuck reacted, not even caring about the massive disadvantage he had placed himself under. With a powerful Megahorn, he made Houndoom stagger back before Sawsbuck created doppelgangers of himself with a double team maneuver. Houndoom didn’t even know which way to fire, and never saw the take down coming.

“Oh wow…” Ruby said as she hugged Sawsbuck tightly, wrapping her arms around the Season Pokémon’s neck. He didn’t even protest. “You totally kicked its butt!”

Then several more sharp howls cut through the forest and Sawsbuck’s eyes narrowed as Ruby let out a whimper. She’d forgotten the most important thing about Houndooms, they always hunted in packs. Another flash, and Ruby clambered on Sawsbuck’s back as they made a break for it.

The forest flew by in a blur, the sound of thundering paws against dirt somewhere behind them. Several more sharp howls, cutting through Ruby’s soul echoed through the darkened forest. There was barely a moon to guide them by, and every now and again it vanished through the ever-thickening woods. Ruby didn’t know or even care if they were going the right way, all she cared about was getting as far away from that pack as possible. A task that proved harder than Ruby had thought it would be. As proven when the young trainer just barely ducked in time to avoid a powerful blast of fire. The searing heat went directly overhead, followed by the massive crimson and black form of a houndoom, sharp horns and claws glistening a moonlit silver. 

The houndoom whirled on its paws, a small cloud of dust kicked up in its wake as it turned to face them. It charged up another flamethrower, but never got the chance as Sawsbuck took it down with a, uh, Take Down attack. Okay, so um yeah, never again would Ruby deny a gift from her mother! Then several low growls were heard, and Sawsbuck turned to see the rest of the pack emerging from the timberland. Eyes gleaming a demonic red, they closed in. Ruby swallowed even as Sawsbuck charged up an energy ball. It was hardly going to be effective.

Then a low growl and Ruby’s eyes turned to see twin yellow eyes peering out of the darkness. Two very _familiar_ yellow eyes at that. Her breath caught in her throat, even as the Houndoom pack sized up the threat and turned tail soon after. Even as the eyes vanished back into the darkness, the sound of retreating pawsteps being heard Ruby let out a whispered: “Thank you…”

Briefly, her hands went to her Pokedex but all she got was this message. **_“There is no data. There are still Pokémon yet to be identified.”_ **

Ruby’s eyes widened, so what was…? Okay, yeah this was a message given to out of region Pokemon her Dex wasn’t quite registered for but at the same time… Um, okay wow. Chalk one up to new experiences. Nearly killed by a houndoom pack and saved by a mysterious Pokemon. And there was still the matter of this strange crystal, which now that she thought about it was glowing with even more power _after_ the houndoom showed up! On a hunch, or a whim of curiosity Ruby walked near the downed houndoom. The crystal glowed brighter. Okay, so that was interesting.

Could it be…? Yeah, no surely not! Her luck was nowhere _near_ that good! But all the same… Ruby fished into her bag and brought out a dusk ball. Throwing it, the houndoom was sucked inside with a flash of light. The ball barely rattled for a few seconds before it pinged, marking a successful capture.

“Oh yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah, I caught a houndoom!” Ruby stood up and cheered, doing a little dance and holding her newly captured Pokemon skywards inside its ball. Sawsbuck gave her an odd little look. Ruby blushed sheepishly. Oh right, she was still inside the deep dark woods and still with no way out. And still with Arceus only knew what lurking about. Yeeeeeeeeeeeah, now that she thought about it, she really should be getting out of there. 

So, yeah, getting out of there. She should really be getting on that. Now, where was… oh, there he was. Sure enough, Porygon2 had returned, and let out several beeps that were easily interpreted as ‘follow me’. The digital creature floated off with Ruby climbing back on Sawsbuck to follow him. Or it, or her or whatever, Ruby was never really sure with him. Or her, or it or whatever.

Several moments and a mile later, Ruby’s eyelids began to grow heavy. “Sleepy…” she murmured. Sawsbuck let out a gruff little noise, snorting. Yeah, it really was past his trainer’s bedtime. 

No time to get her to a Pokemon Center though, not that it mattered given really they were all closed by this time. So what then? Could they manage sleeping out in the wilderness? Not that Sawsbuck wasn’t grateful towards their unknown savior but he doubted he -or she- could spend the whole night watching Ruby. Nor could he actually, he needed his sleep as well. 

Trotting forward, Porygon2 hovering by his side he searched for any possible spots to set up camp. None presented themselves. Then he heard it, chittering and Sawsbuck looked down. An apple? No, that wasn’t right. An appletun, several actually. Huh, interesting.

 _“Is that your trainer?”_ the dragon-types asked. Sawsbuck snorted at the thought, it was hard to believe these little creatures were actually half-dragon. Great things came in tiny packages, wasn’t that how the saying went? Or something like that. Sawsbuck let out a gruff snort.

 _“Yes, what of it?”_ the Season Pokémon asked before letting out a yawn. No, not the move, but a regular old yawn. _”Look, if you want a battle, can’t we save this until morning? I’m tired, my trainer is tired and really the only reason Porygon2 isn’t tired is because he’s artificial!”_

The Virtual Pokémon let out several angered beeps and whirrs, sounding like a computer about to blow. Sawsbuck paid him no mind, he was way too tired to deal with that right now. _“No, no battles!”_ the appletun chittered, the lead one shaking his head rapidly. _“Those houndoom, they’ve been hunting us and chasing us from our homes, we’ve been waiting for someone to knock them down a few pegs!”_

Oh… oh great, were they bowing to him? Oh yeah, Sawsbuck grumbled to himself, he _was_ way too tired to deal with this right now. Annnnnnnnndddd now they were calling him a savior. What next, were they going to call him the next Arceus? He loved praise as much as the next ‘Mon but he really didn’t care for outright blasphemy. And he really doubted Arceus did either. 

_“Can… can you please quit it? Really, this has gone far enough!”_ Sawbuck-who-was-totally-not-Arceus-and-would-like-to-stay-that-way-thank-you-very-much uttered. He stamped a hoof in irritation kicking up a little bit of dust in the process. _“Now if you’ve got a point, get to it! Or I swear, dragon type or not, I’ll find a way to make crispy apple pie out of you!”_

 _“Oh… oh yes!”_ the lead appletun said in his chitterings. _“It’s just… well, we have a den not far from here we can now reclaim. All thanks to your efforts, of course, and we believe it only fair your trainer shares it with us for the night. It is the least we can offer as a thank you…”_

And so Sawsbuck followed, even if the appletun continued to treat him like he was Arceus’ offspring all throughout the way. Oh Lady Ho-Oh above, what a night! In any event, he gently sat Ruby down, and curled up next to his trainer to provide a sense of warmth throughout the cold night. There was a chill in the air, the faintest whisperings of autumn. He smiled watching Ruby snuggle into his warm fur and had to fight back a laugh. She was now clutching one of the appletun to her chest like it was a plush toy. Not that it seemed to mind. Soon, sleep claimed him as well…

\-----

Of course, while all of this was going on, Weiss and Blake continued to be idiots in denial together. ...or something like that. Blake wanted to scream, stuck with Ice Queen who apparently knew more than her when it came to this mysterious Pokemon. Just her luck. She wanted to curl up into a ball and die of shame.

“So, tell me,” Blake asked as she flipped through her book via litwick light. Several of the ghost-types floated around the shop, gifts from Morty. Apparently, he was a fan of a new bookstore in town, especially one owned by a member of the Belladonna family. Small world, that. Apparently he used to be friends with her mother, who gifted him his beloved Gengar and some gengarite to go with it. The Mystic Seer of the Future, friends with her mother? Strange times. Bet her dad must have _loved_ that, Blake thought with a snort.

“Tell me what?” Weiss asked stroking her Snowpea, the vulpix flipping her tails in contentment. “Go on, I don’t have all day!”

“Apparently you do,” Blake remarked. “As normally, a trainer would be off and on the road again as soon as they’d defeated Morty. So what makes you so different?”

“Reasons…” Weiss replied.

“Oh?” Blake asked in return. “What kind of reasons?” 

“None that you would understand,” Weiss replied. 

“Oh, I’d think I could understand plenty,” Blake surmised. She gave Weiss a ‘look’, and to Blake’s satisfaction the Ice Queen looked actually unnerved by that. “Admit it Schnee, you just want to see how Morty’s whole battle with Ruby turns out!”

“Um, yeah, of course I do,” Weiss replied. “I want to see how badly Ruby’s butt gets kicked to the curb, and how badly she runs home crying. That’s all!”

Blake, true to form, looked skeptical. “Oh, if that’s the case, then why did you send Ruby off to get a munna or two?” she asked. “That seemed… counterproductive to your stated reasons. In fact, you’re actually improving her chances at winning this bout.”

“Pffft, as if!” Weiss snorted. “I just don’t want Ruby to get her ass kicked _before_ she even makes it to Morty. Goodness knows there’s plenty of Hex Maniacs and the like just lurking all about that gym to soften up trainers!”

“Uh-huh, yeah…” Blake nodded along before flipping to another page. “If you say so…”

“I do say so!” Weiss shrieked. Schreecked? Something like that. Blake gave her a look, shushing her. She was _trying_ to read, and she’d really rather not have disruptions by bratty heiresses who got everything they wanted in life. Plus, of course, there were customers trying to actually read their potential purchases in private and all. Really, Blake would not have her wall to wall book mine ruined by one yanma in the ointment. It would take several yanma, at least!

“Mhmm,” Blake replied with a small nod. “I think you’ll find as life goes on, you ‘saying so’ won’t get you everything that you want.”

“Oh hush you,” Weiss sniffed as she stroked Snowpea’s head. “You’re reminding me of that one woman with the Jolteon who wailed on poor Snowpea!”

She missed Snowpea visibly rolling her eyes at this. It was a great battle, and she lost with dignity!

“Ever stop to consider maybe the woman had a point?” Blake challenged. “You are a brat. No ifs, ands, or buts. You’re so used to getting your way all the time, you can’t stop to consider people hate you trodding all over you.”

Blake was unflinching, brutal and to the point as she outlined her problems with Weiss. Weiss, who noticeably flinched at each mark like it were a physical blow. Weiss, who mumbled: “...s-so what’s your point? Or are you just here to insult me?”

“Whatever gets through that thick skull of yours,” Blake shrugged before going back to her book. But Weiss was having none of it, slamming a hand down on the table in front of the black haired beauty. Blake looked up. “Oh?”

“There’s only one way to settle this offense, and that’s with a battle,” Weiss said as she snapped her fingers and Snowpea appeared at her side. “Outside, right now!”

“So, really this is just to nurse your wounded pride?” Blake asked as for whatever reason she followed Schnee. Summoning her Yamask from its dusk ball, she sighed. “Oh well, if it makes you feel better… Actually, it’ll probably make me feel better when I beat you.”

Blake sighed and ordered Yamask to use will-o-wisp, and Snowpea let out a squeal of pain. Yamask’s eyes glowed a sharp red, before Zen Headbutting Snowpea right through a wall. Blake looked at Weiss and said: “You’re paying for that by the way.”

“Ha, we’ll see who’s paying who!” Weiss called as Snowpea leaped out of the rubble, and caught a rawst berry in her mouth. Charging up an ice beam, it was all Yamask could do to dodge right and left to avoid being frozen. His eyes glowed once more, and Snowpea found herself in a room with echo upon echo of her. A trick room if you will, and firing off ice beams in confusion she barely missed her trainer. Once again, a Zen Headbutt landed and once again Snowpea was knocked off her feet. 

A shadow ball finished matters, and Weiss was left gaping as Blake held out her hand. Some Pokedollars were shoved into it, Weiss grumbling the cruelties of the world. “Excellent, this should more than replace that wall you wrecked,” Blake smirked, resembling her glameow in plenty of ways. It was so disgustingly fitting for her, Weiss thought.

“You threw my Pokemon through that wall, so technically _you_ wrecked it.” Weiss pointed out but Blake was quick with the return.

“And _you_ challenged _me_ , so I think I know whom the blame belongs to!” Blake sniped and once again Weiss was left grumbling. 

\-----

  
  


Morning came as the Combuskens crowed. Ruby let out a yawn, muttering: “I dun wanna godo skool. Phive murr minudes mommy…” to herself.

A small gentle nip, and Ruby shot awake. She shot a glare at her nipper, her Sawsbuck looking all too entirely innocent for her liking. Grumbling and groaning, she rose to meet the day brushing the dirt off her clothes. Blinking from the brightness of the sun, she and Sawsbuck then shared a look as they realized what lay just a few feet beyond them. The MooMoo farm, miltank mooing and lowing in the early morning sun.

Had they really been that close to civilization without even realizing it? Oh, surely not! Ruby knew her luck was never that good! Then again, as of late she’d met up with an old friend, gained some houndoomite, a houndoom to go along with it -and a Trevenant, oh yes- and now she was directly in front of a farm! What next? Was a legendary just going to fall out of the sky?

Ruby repeated herself, just in case. Just in case. Okay, so apparently her luck had its limits. Okay then, nice to know. Oh well, she thought with a shrug as she started forwards, her Sawsbuck and Porygon2 by her side as she emerged from the timberland. Mt. Mortar rose tall and proud in the background, clouds of smoke gently wafting out of it’s precipice. Off to the east, she could see the bell tower of Ecruteak City, and she could even hear the bell ringing out morning greetings if she listened to the wind closely.

She looked to her left as she left the forest, and thought she saw something watching her from the shadows. Maybe it was just her imagination, it could have been nothing. It probably was. If there was anything there, it was gone now. Vanished back to the shadows as quick as it came. 

Whistling to herself, -yeah Ruby was a morning person when fully awake- the young trainer smiled as she felt the warm summer sun hit her face. She stretched and… and actually, now that she thought about it, she didn’t know what she was going to do. She had planned to catch a miltank, but did she really need one even now? She had a full team at her side, including two ghost types to take on Morty! So… well, I guess that left really only one option.

“You know what this means right?” Ruby asked as she turned to Sawsbuck, the deer-like Pokemon tilting his head in confusion. He wasn’t exactly privy to all of his trainer’s thought processes after all. “TRAINING!”

And so it was with a gleeful grin Ruby barked out orders, making Sawsbuck continue ramming himself up against a massive boulder till it shattered. All to learn headbutt of course. You’d think it’d be such a simple thing, given a headbutt was just a headbutt after all. But, but! But no, you had to build up a Pokemon’s head strength before they could do any real damage. Ruby nodded approvingly at each pass Sawsbuck made on the boulder, with a glass of MooMoo milk in hand. Turns out, the farm was always happy to help some passing trainers. With, of course, a dose of free publicity. 

“Well now,” Whitney said in her distinctive southern drawl as she worked the udders of a miltank nearby. Not just any miltank, _her_ miltank. It was all Ruby could do not to scream ‘DEMON DEVIL COW!’ at the creature, still remembering the _many_ many rollouts her team had to tank to win against it. “Didn’t expect to see you so soon Rosie, what you come to capitalize on Milly’s power here? Did you finally see the light and realize how awesome a miltank is?”

“Well, it was kinda hard not to after being rolled out into the ground so many times…” Ruby grumbled in memory. It was actually sorta hard to get angry at Whitney really, she was such a sweetheart. Even if her gym sucked balls. “I mean, uh, that was probably the toughest fight I ever had…”

Well, except for that one battle with Weiss but she wasn’t going to give Weiss the satisfaction of knowing that. She wasn’t even going to give Weiss the satisfaction of even _acknowledging_ that battle happened. Served her right, the little brat! Whitney snorted. “Well, I’d be insulted if it wasn’t! I mean, like as a gym leader it’s my job to challenge trainers, make them learn and grow. Same with Morty’s -say hey to him for me, okay?- and same with everyone beyond. We’re stepping stones onto that path to the Pokemon League.”

“Yeah?” Ruby asked suddenly feeling very enlightened. In the background, Porygon2 was currently trying to learn Magnet Rise, the little digital duck focusing hard. 

“Oh yeah, totally!” Whitney beamed, continuing to work on her miltank. “Like, think of it this way yeah? I was a challenge, but you learned how to get past me eventually. We’re basically stepping stones, or hurdles for you to get over. So yeah, I’m tough. Morty’s tough, but like we have to be. It’d be shameful of me if I was anythin’ else right?”

“Y-Yeah, I suppose…” Ruby said as she nibbled on an apple. An apple, not an applin thankfully. It was an easy enough mistake to make, several colonies of the grass-type calling the surrounding area home. Oh well, if it shrieked and wiggled, and then Ruby shrieked then she’d know which she had. “Hey Whitney, you ever had a rival?”

“Well, no, not that I can recall anyways…” the Gym Leader said lost in thought. “Like, unless you’re counting the next farm over. We’re constantly competing to see who can make the most milk. But that’s more a friendly rivalry. I suspect you’re talking about a deep-seated bloody hatred must defeat at all costs type of thing right?”

“W-Well, I guess, though I’m not _entirely_ sure if I’d put it like that…” Ruby trailed off before she heard it. Heard her.

“RUBY ROSE!” Weiss shrieked making Ruby’s ears nearly bleed. Sawsbuck looked annoyed at the sheer volume that girl possessed. Whitney suddenly began to look very understanding, and then sympathetic. “So this is where you’ve been gone? Off living it up, or down I suppose on a FARM!?!”

“Oh no, I spent the night in the forest and managed to capture some pokemon!” Ruby said idly tossing Houndoom’s dusk ball up in the air and then catching it again. “...wait, were you worried about me or something?” 

“Well… yes… er no… Of course, I wasn’t worried, why would I be worried about you!?!” Weiss shouted, no real volume control it seemed. “You’re just some kid from the boonies!”

“Did… did you fall in a mud puddle?” Ruby asked eying Weiss up and down, sticks and twigs in her hair. “Oh Arceus, your boots are ruined!”

“Never mind that,” Weiss said. “I get up first thing in the morning to search for you, and here I find you sitting comfortably on a farm! Drinking milk and cozying it up with Whitney of all people!”

“Hey!” this came from, guess who?

“Oh, so you _were_ worried about me!” Ruby said trying to hold back laughter.

“Well, no, more like Blake was so…” Weiss muttered.

“So where’s Blake?” Ruby challenged.

“Searching the other end of the forest, I don’t know what happened to her. Maybe she got eaten by an Ursaring or something…” Weiss said with a little dismissive wave in classic Schnee fashion. “Or maybe I’m wrong and she’ll be along shortly. Anyways, I deserve a battle for going through all this trouble in finding you!”

Again, Snowpea visibly rolled her eyes. Again, Weiss failed to notice her starter being so _done_ with her haughty behavior. “So, my boots were ruined in the forest, and you don’t see me complaining about it,” Ruby said with a deadpan look. 

Whitney meanwhile was of a different mind. Currently, she was muttering: “...that girl is so deep in denial she’s practically waist-deep in a river!”

“Yes, but these boots cost 50000 Pokedollars!” Weiss snapped. “So yes, I think I do have the right to complain!”

“Okay, fair point,” Ruby admitted. “But all the same, really can’t you just go get new ones? I’m sure you have the money for them…”

“Yes, but some of that money is coming out of _your_ pocket!” Weiss barked. “So, up with you. We’re going to have this right here, right now!”

Ruby looked skywards as if to seemingly ask why oh why Lord Arceus did she have to meet this girl? But finally, she relented with a grumble of: “Fine… Been looking for an excuse to see what my new Trevenant can do!”

Whitney played one very gleeful referee, cackling all the while for some reason. Weiss and Ruby gave her odd looks, not really sure what was going through her mind. It was probably for the best, really. 

With a roar, the ghost type took the field against Weiss’ Electrode, the Bomb Ball actually shaking in fear somewhat. That fear was soon replaced by determination, and a bark of: “Rollout!” set it on its course.

A massive swipe from one of the Elder Tree Pokémon’s clawed branches ripped up the ground. Electrode rolled off a makeshift ramp and well over Trevenant’s head. A thunderbolt was summoned from the sky, and ripped through the heavens and right to the tallest thing in the area. Which was of course, Trevenant. An utterly ghastly wail sounded through the area, and it took both Weiss and Ruby a minute to realize the Elder Tree Pokémon was roaring in pain.

But it was swift to retaliate, and sent a barrage of strange magical leaves towards Electrode. No matter how or where it tried to roll, the leaves followed. Another thunderbolt was sent, and this time Trevenant was ready. It shifted in its spot, before its singular red eye glowed with a fire, and the sun seemed to shine ever brighter. Several flaming balls like foxfire attacked the Bomb Ball, upending it before… and it seemed like the battle might be won but no. Another thunderbolt ripped right through the sky and struck like a force. Trevenant keeled over, Weiss smirking smugly.

But the battle was far from over, really as once again Honedge took the battlefield. Once again, Weiss looked spooked in reminder of what it could do. Snowpea leaped to the battlefront, and dodged a powerful slash from the sword-based Pokemon, rolling under the blow. She then let loose with an Ice Beam and Honedge let out a horrific cross between a screech and a hum. It shook and it shivered with a metallic sound, and Snowpea covered her ears. Then she was swept off her paws by another slash attack.

Snowpea dodged another slash, and leaped into the air. She spun and grabbed Honedge by the hilt, and with a terrific show of force managed to drive the Pokemon into the ground. Kicking herself off the blade, she flipped backwards and let loose with a weather ball. The now fire-type move sent Honedge flying into a tree, ripping up the ground as the blade-like Pokemon impaled itself. Honedge tried to pry itself out of the tree but failed to see the Dark Pulse coming it's way. The sword spirit fainted and was recalled.

“Only one Pokemon left Rose, just like the last time,” Weiss said. “So, what will you do? Give up now, and I might go easy on you!”

“Oh, like I’d ever do that!” Ruby said and called Zwei to the battlefront. The Herdier slammed into Snowpea with a takedown, and almost immediately the vulpix staggered. It wasn’t even able to fire off another Ice Beam before Zwei bit down in a Crunch maneuver. Snowpea was recalled, but what happened next… well, some dropped jaws were in order. A beautiful stream-lined red and white Pokemon, downy feathers well suited to cutting through the air.

“L-Latias…” Ruby whispered in both awe and fear. 

“Be honored,” Weiss said. “Very rarely do I let my girl defeat someone.”

The female of the eon duo let out a little coo gathering up a ball of pure mist and letting it fly. Zwei staggered, not feeling any damage but not that it mattered really. As that was because of what happened next, the Loyal Dog Pokémon being hit by a full force dragon breath. He staggered, before falling face forwards in a dead faint. Once again, Ruby had lost to Weiss, and once again a payment was made.

As Weiss walked off, new money in hand Ruby let out a sob. She was never going to beat her, was she? And then, she looked at Zwei fully healed and on his feet again. No, she _would_ beat her. Someday… For now, Morty would have to do. Morty, and then onto Weiss Schnee!


	4. 4: This Life is Mine

_“This Life is Mine.”_

That was Weiss’ motto, foremost and forever. Nightfall had come, and already she was ruminating on her victory over Ruby. Strangely, she found it brought her no pleasure at all. Running her fingers through Latias’ downy feathers, she wondered: “Was that it? Are you the reason?”

Perhaps, she admitted, she had gone too far. Ruby was still just a newb… sorry, a novice. Schnees did not engage in slang after all. Was it really worth letting Latias go at her, even if the dragon needed to stretch her wings? No, perhaps it wasn’t. On the other hand, Weiss ruminated, perhaps it would give her that kick up the behind she solely needed. Ruby had very little in the way of strategy, Weiss was frankly amazed she’d even gotten this far. How she had managed to get past Whitney was a mystery for the ages really. Falkner and Bugsy were hardly a challenge to anyone, the first two gyms never really were actually. But Whitney? Okay, yeah Weiss would admit she respected Ruby for getting past her with her frankly sub-standard, subpar team.

But Morty would stop her dead in her tracks… maybe. She had two ghost types, and if trained up right they could be a fighting force. So, yeah, okay so no Munna. Eh, Weiss wasn’t expecting a dunce to really catch such a rare Pokemon. Trevenant had surprised her, to be sure, but it was well known the forest had a population if you knew where to look. Again, she repeated: “Was that it? Are you the reason?”

Latias let out a coo and nuzzled her trainer, the legendary dragon being surprisingly receptive of human companionship. Of course, it helped Weiss had raised her from an egg so there was that. 

“I… I just don’t understand it,” Weiss murmured to herself falling back into her bed. “What am I even doing, I should be on my way to Cianwood, not waiting around her pandering to these… losers.”

_“Oh, so you’re not talking about Latias,”_ Snowpea voiced. _“And here I thought you were, my mistake. Wowee, that little girl from Galar really has you all confused doesn’t she?”_

“S-Shut up,” Weiss mumbled to the Alolan native. “I’d really rather not think about that dolt any more than I have to!”

_“And yet you already are,”_ Latias put in, her voice soft and shy. _“I’m almost insulted. Here I thought you were thinking about me. In any event, yes you’re thinking about that ‘dolt’ as you called her. Very rude by the way!”_

_“Oh yes, quite,”_ Snowpea agreed with the dragon type. _“But sadly, it seems our little Mistress has yet to learn the subtle art of manners! Oh, you should have seen how she talked to Ho-Oh’s guardians at the tower!”_

_“I could hear her, actually,”_ Latias put in nervously pressing her claws together. _“She was hardly very kind to them. And to think, they have to guard the tower from intruders and await Lady Ho-Oh’s return generation after generation. Not deal with rude little girls.”_

“I am NOT rude!” Weiss snapped. “Nor am I a little girl!”

Latias and Snowpea shared a look. _“Oh, then you don’t want me to warm up some MooMoo milk in a bottle for you?”_ Snowpea asked demurely, a wide-eyed innocent look -okay not really- cast across her face. She drawled: _“Because I’m sure that would suit you just finnnnnnneeeee.”_

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Weiss asked and Latias had to hide her laughter with a hand over her mouth. Snowpea just continued to radiate that all too innocent to be innocent expression. 

_“Whatever gave you that impression Mistress?”_ Snowpea asked. _“I am only wanting what is best for you.”_

“And you assume what’s best for me is to associate what with are basically filthy commoners and amateurs?” Weiss scoffed. “Oh, surely you must be joking!”

Here, Latias smacked her over the head, before the eon dragon gazed at her sternly. _“See, this is your problem! That, that right there! You have no sense of tact, and are quite the snob! What… whatever happened to the sweet little girl that raised us from hatchling-hood?”_

“Yes, well, newsflash, little girls don’t stay little girls forever okay?” Weiss snapped making both of her Pokemon flinch. For a moment -just one of the briefest of moments- she sounded as if she was fighting back tears. But then the moment was gone. “They grow up, and move on with their lives. The world has no place for children.”

_“Funny that,”_ Snowpea disagreed, eyes narrowed. _“The Weiss I knew wouldn’t have hesitated in a moment to make friends with someone like Ruby Rose. The Weiss I knew needed a friend or two. Didn’t you want bunk beds once, for sleepovers wasn’t it?”_

For a moment, Weiss flashed back. Then that moment, like the one before, was gone. “...Yes, well, that was a different time then. I was a different girl then. Not ready for the world’s harsh realities.”

_“Well, quite personally, I’d like a little bit of that girl back thank you very much!”_ Snowpea replied.

“So you keep saying,” Weiss grumbled as she tossed her clothes off the bed, changing into a sleep shirt. Gently doing up the buttons she then began running a comb through her snow-white locks. No curls, no tangles, no messiness was allowed. Just simply straight and neat, pure as the new-fallen snow. “But I’m sorry to say she isn’t going to be coming back any time soon.”

Ah, at last, a victory Snowpea thought. She was beginning to break through. Just a little more pressing, and that armor would shatter like glass. _“Ah, but the way you say that implies she’ll return someday, correct?”_

“Damn it…” Weiss swore, Snowpea smirking unseen. Hardly very lady-like, that! Snowpea was soon promptly hit atop the head via flying hairbrush. “Just… just shut up, okay?”

_“We’ll see,”_ Snowpea replied. _“I’ll have you eating out of my paws yet Mistress!”_

“Good night, Snowpea!” Weiss grumbled as she flicked the lights off. 

\------

Sleep did not come easily that night, Weiss flashing back to times long since past. The Sinnoh region, deep within snow-covered hills and valleys and mountainous peaks. Inside lay a secret, a mansion with wide expansive grounds filled with only the most exotic of Pokemon. 

Sweeping fields comprised the outside of the mansion and outside it lay the wilderness beyond. Tall, foreboding walls of brick and stone made the practical palace an impregnable fortress. Study, and likely to last forever against whatever Sinnoh had to throw at it, but on the other side of things… well, to say it wasn’t very welcoming was a bit of an understatement. It felt like a cage at times, actually. Willow Schnee knew this. When she wasn’t at the bottom of a bottle, she often took strolls throughout the grounds, only to be reminded her family home was also her prison.

She’d heard things, rumors and whispers. Dirty dealings, with criminal teams. Names like Galactic and Rocket were whispered amongst the mansion maids almost daily it seemed like. Was it possible that her husband… no, of course it wasn’t possible. It was beyond possible. It was completely and exactly true. Of course, Whitley and Weiss never knew, or never made much sense of the whisperings. All they knew was that their uncle Cyrus came to visit every now and again. Winter never said anything to them, and neither did Willow. They decided not to ruin the illusion while it lasted. In hindsight, Weiss should have known this. Realized this, in fact. Her mother had always been so protective of her children, not wanting to expose them to the evils of the world.

But for now, in those early and long since past childhood days, all was well. Not perfect, never perfect. No family ever was just perfect. But well enough to provide a sense of happiness, gilded cage that it was. Not that, of course, Weiss knew it to be a gilded cage. For her, it was her home and she’d trade absolutely nothing for it.

Her mother came from a long line of successful businessmen and while she had mainly left up the family business to a friend -Willow loved her contests after all!- she occasionally… dabbled. But for the most part, it was contests and more contests. And what a star she was in her youth, the Snow Angel of Sinnoh they called her. Weiss had seen the ribbons and the trophies. They were displayed in great prominence on top of the fireplace. Above that of course, was the family portrait. It displayed a loving family, two parents and their three happy children. In hindsight, that was exactly like everything else in the family. An illusion. A twisted mirror, funhouse-like in some ways into another world which was on the surface all grand and well but in reality a falsehood. 

Again, Weiss would never realize this until much later in life. Winter protected her and Whitley from the truth until they were ready to face it. She protected them from a great many things. In time, yes, they’d realize what life was really like but for now…?

“Go get him, dad!” 

It was battles on the front lawn, Jacques against Uncle Cyrus in duels to the not quite death. But pretty close. The art of the Pokemon battle, with two very small Schnee siblings looking on. A massive cross between a UFO and a ladybug hovered over the battlefield, sparks of lightning striking all about. An intense but ultimately low-pitched hum came from the creature. Weiss watched in awe, her toddling brother gently tugging at her sleeve. Was it possible, could a pokemon really get that big?

Apparently so. 

Meanwhile, Jacques had chosen a Slowbro as his weapon of choice. And a finely tuned weapon it was, precise and direct. Looking completely puny next to the kaiju-sized Orbeetle, the Hermit Crab Pokémon blinked slowly. Then, he stuck with a speed unexpected of him. With a call from Jacques, the Slowbro heeded his master’s words. Digging deep into the snow, even under heavy gravity he was soon to emerge. And then, it struck. Eyes glowing, the battlefield was completely changed. No longer was the effect of heavy gravity in order, disabled. 

Weiss cheered even harder, dancing in place until a look from Winter stopped her. Orbeetle reacted, with a psybeam. A shimmering mirror of light, under orders from Jacques was erected. The blast rebounded and Orbeetle let out a low hum of pain. 

“I see your skill only improves with time and refinement, Schnee,” Cyrus said in that low but somewhat friendly way of his. His icy blue hair blew gently in the breeze. “Maybe you’ll be able to win this bout yet.”

“Maybe?” Jacques asked. “There are no maybes in life. Neither in Pokemon battles nor in business. There are only certainties.”

“Yes, quite,” Cyrus remarked. “Certainties of who will win and who will lose. It’s disgusting, but we are all bound by fate. It is pointless to resist.”

Several shots from Orbeetle, psybeams again even as Slowbro dug into the ground. Then the ground erupted in a pure blast wave of water, and it quickly froze in midair. Finally, Slowbro was no longer forced to be on the defensive. Cyrus looked mildly impressed, a clever move to be sure. But it would still not be enough.

“I think I can change the fate of this battle,” Jacques said. “I had a certainty once. That I would be nothing of note. I changed that certainty, and now I am certain I can defeat you. Slowbro, Brick Break!”

“Orbeetle, defeat this fool and show him his folly with a Zen Headbutt!” Cyrus barked. The two attacks collided in an explosion. The breeze turned to a gale, smoke filling the battlefield. Then the smoke cleared, even as Weiss and Whitley’s hair whipped in the wind. Was it over? Apparently so, as with a thud the massive Orbeetle crashed to the ground. Slowbro plummeted smashing into a cluster of trees. Neither had won.

“So, neither a win nor a loss,” Jacques observed. “How very… disappointing.”

“You’re good on the business front my friend, but on the field of battle, you have much to learn!” Cyrus said placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Jacques grimaced, his mask of carefully trained emotion cracking for a moment. A brief moment, but a moment it was. He looked back at his children, Cyrus following his gaze. “But it seems we have at least pleased them, hmm?”

“Our battles are not about pleasure,” The Schnee Patriarch said. “They are about improvement and refinement of our own skills.”

“Let them have this at least,” Cyrus said. “Before they have to grow up and face the cruel realities of the world.”

Jacques let out a long sigh, before conceding. “...Very well then. Weiss, Winter. Take notes! When you engage in your contests, as you are expected to, I want you to improve and refine my techniques!”

“Ever the stern teacher?” Cyrus asked of him. “Seems to me your techniques need work! They couldn’t net you a win.”

“Against any other Pokemon, they might just have,” Jacques said.

“Might, the key word is might here,” Cyrus replied with a smirk.

“Against any other pokemon,” Jacques continued on pretending he hadn’t heard. “They just might have netted me a victory. Gigantimax Pokemon are a new player to this game. However, you seem to have mastered them!”

“Sadly, there really aren’t a lot of Gigantimax pokemon around,” Cyrus said. “Aside from the low number of species we know of with the factor, there are so very few Pokemon within those species that possess it. And then there is the fact that only certain spots can you engage in this new improvement to the battle. Eternatus blessed us with what we have.”

“Blessed, is that the word you would use?” Jacques asked. “We, as a species, barely survived the Darkest Day!”

“And look at us now, friend of mine,” Cyrus declared. “We have flourished! We now control Pokemon with a might unmatched. Imagine, if we could crack the secret to…”

Jacques put up a finger to his lips, and glanced back at his children. “Not here, not while there are too many watchful eyes and gossiping ears. My study, if you will?”

“Yes…” Cyrus said adjusting his tie. “Quite.”

Weiss, later that day found two packages of interest in her room. She looked towards Winter, who looked just as confused as her younger sibling. While Cyrus and their father had retired to his study, it seemed these packages had just… shown up. Winter chuckled and urged her sister to open them.

“Why?” Weiss asked.

“It seems,” Winter began. Behind her, something vaguely defined and yet draconic moved. “Our father believes it is time to receive our inheritance.”

With the speed of a rabid zigzagoon, Weiss tore into the packaging. Twin eggs, one white as the new-fallen snow and the other… well, this one was more interesting. White but with red detailing. And then, the eggs hatched with the inside shining with light through faint cracks. Cracks that grew ever larger until… Something tackled the tiny Snow Princess to the floor, and Weiss slowly opened fearful eyes to see a beautifully refined Latias chick staring down at her. A little vulpix nervously padded at Weiss’ arm, obviously the other hatchling. Weiss let out a soft gasp, before she hugged her new friends tightly. For a time, all was right in the world.

To this day, Weiss had never quite figured out exactly where her father got a Latias and Latios duo. Though she suspected Cyrus was involved somehow. But it was a duo indeed, her older sister had received the other of the Eon Duo. Latias never received a name, because the name Latias was enough. It defined the legendary Pokemon, Latias just… was. Snowpea was quickly grafted to the vulpix, her eyes twinkling like a… well, like a pea amongst the snow flurries. 

Mysterious pranks began to under fall the household. Of course, everybody knew who was behind them, or suspected at the very least. But nobody could ever really be sure. Objects going missing from locked rooms, only to turn up later. Toys from Whitley’s room were found in the attic hours later, or maybe a few snacks found stolen from the kitchen from time to time. Nobody really minded, or if they did they never said a word. Everybody knew about the Latias in the household, but nobody spoke of it. Jacques had paid them not to, even if everybody knew eventually he’d be flaunting both Eon dragons. He was biding his time really, waiting to unveil them to the world. Saying that yes, his daughters had tamed the mighty dragons. 

So, for now, it remained an open secret. Just as much of an open secret -if not more so- as the dealings and doings on behind closed doors. As for why Giovanni or whoever else Jacques invited over never went after the Eons? Well, Jacques loved to protect his investments. So nobody touched the dragons. Well, nobody who valued their continued business with the Schnees. 

The pranks went on, sometimes a little white fox seen at the scene of the ‘crimes’. Nobody, again, really minded. After all, who were they harming? Eventually the pranks would stop as Weiss grew older but Jacques wasn’t cruel enough to deny her something of a childhood. Yes, she and her sister were paraded around like dolls at functions but at home, something of Willow’s word being law remained. Or maybe Jacques was smart enough to realize a happy functioning child meant a well functioning adult later on in life. Who was to say? Who was to say indeed. The household may have been a cage, but it was a gilded cage in the end. Or was it a cage if nobody in the cage realized it was a cage. Weiss, really, had no real desire to leave home. She spent the last years of her childhood happy and content with her two new ‘siblings’.

Nothing lasts forever, however. Especially not childhood.

It happened one day, Weiss striding through the halls of her palace. Her kingdom. Here she was princess over all that she saw. She even had her loyal knights, Latias and Snowpea. Or, well maybe squires really given they were hardly battle ready just yet. Giggling, the young Schnee led them through the hallways, before she heard whispering. Weiss leaned up against a wall, Latias making herself invisible and Snowpea vanishing from sight. And together, they listened. 

“And I say enough is enough!” The distinctly familiar voice of her father could be heard, ever so slightly muffled, from the other side of the wall.

“Is it?” came another voice. Uncle Cyrus. Oh right, Weiss remembered. He was supposed to be over here today. “If you just give me a little more time… I’m almost close to cracking the genetic sequencing! We’re right on the precipice!” 

“That’s what you told me the last three times something went wrong. I can’t keep this under wraps forever and since you fail to produce any form of usable progress I’m shutting this partnership down. Right here and now! People are starting to ask questions!” Jacques practically _snarled_. 

“But I managed to create a usable formula,” Cyrus argued. “Just last week, I had a Gigantimaxing! Yes, it destroyed the lab, and people died but what are a few lives in the name of progress anyhow? We’ll all die someday anyhow, those scientists meeting their end far quicker than the norm was a mercy, actually. They wouldn’t have to suffer through life.” 

“Like I care for their lives. What I care about is what others will think. Covering up one accident, easy enough. Two, fine, even four is still manageable, but at this point? People are starting to ask questions and if they connect it back to me, it could create a massive controversy for me and my company!”

Weiss’ mind was a blur. Her father’s company? Experiments? Controversies? What was going on? Her father would surely never be involved in anything evil, would he? She wanted to run in, and rush to his defense. 

“Any good businessman needs to know when the risk outway the rewards. And you pushed it farther than I should have taken it already. Your experiments will not cover for all the damage you could cause my company if you screw up again at this point. Our partnership ends right here Cyrus!” He continued a firm, cold tone in his voice.

Weiss’ mind was a turmoil, Uncle Cyrus had always been nothing but kind to her. Yeah, sure he was a little… strange but kind. She vaguely remembered how Cyrus said children deserved to be happy, before they were exposed to the cruel realities of the world. Or something like that.

“Why are you still standing there? This is over. Now leave,” her father added coldly. His voice was like winter’s chill, threatening to break into the warm spring air one last time. “You are not welcome here.”

And then it happened, Weiss stumbled into the room. She had to stop this. She didn’t know how, or why but she had to make her father see reason.

Her father looked at her with a mixture of shock and anger. “Weiss? What are you doing here?” 

“I… I heard everything, Father,” Weiss stammered, a knot in her stomach forming. Snowpea peered nervously into the room, only her head visible. “Controversies, something relating to your company? What’s… what’s going on Father?”

“You… You did what?” His eyes widened for a moment before narrowing. Continuing with a stern voice: “That is nothing that has to concern you! This is grown-up talk! Go back to your room. We will talk about this later!”

“But… but…” Weiss stammered.

“No buts. There are things children aren’t supposed to get involved with. This is one such thing. And now, back to your room!” He continued without missing a beat, pointing with his finger to the door.

“Oh, Jacques,” Cyrus said with a dark chuckle. “You really do want to protect your child, your spawn from it all don’t you? She’ll have to learn eventually. So do feel free to enlighten her.”

Jacques turned around in an instant, glaring at Cyrus. “You think I want to hear how to raise my children from you? You aren’t welcome here any longer, so what makes you think I care about your advice? I raise my children how I see fit!”

“Does that include treating your wife like a trophy?” Cyrus challenged. “I may be a lot of things, but I at least love those who care about me. Best to have something before the end after all.”

“I could expose you, all of it,” Jacques sneered. “Every last little dirty deed. It would be so very easy. I’ve seen your labs, Cyrus. I was smart enough to record things. A good businessman always protects his investments after all, and knows exactly where his money is going.”

And finally, Cyrus flew into a fury like a blizzard up from Mount Coronet. A howling gale, and like a gale he flew onto Weiss, grabbing her and shoving her up against a wall. Weiss gasped for air, little by little as Cyrus began to squeeze. Weiss managed to gasp out: “Father… please…” her eyes wide with terror even as the lights began to dim.

His eyes started to twitch and in a split second his hand moved forward, slamming his fist right into Cyrus’s face, pushing him to the ground. “I’ll say it one last time. Leave my house this instant or I will make sure to turn your life into a living hell. No one will ever give you a penny when I’m done with you. You will never find any kind of work in your fields again. No one attacks the Schnee family and gets away with it!” Jacques growled. “ **Now out!** ”

The twin Weavils that appeared out of nowhere like ninjas, claws sharpened only served to emphasize his point. With a growl, Cyrus dropped Weiss and stormed out of the room. Weiss never saw him again after that. Rumors, as they always did, persisted. That he was building something. Funds mysteriously vanished from the Schnee family coffers, employees leaving never to be seen again. But that's another story. 

Several years passed, Weiss turning into a remarkable young woman. At the age of sixteen, she was already readying herself for her path in life. She’d seen the battle between Summer Rose and Sapphire Arc like just about every other kid her age had, and something just… clicked then and there. Like a switch was flipped on in her brain. She realized what she wanted. Now, the only question was would her father approve?

You see, the Schnees, especially the females in the family, had always been top Pokemon Coordinators. Wowing the crowds in contests with show-stopping and dazzling moves. And Jacques Schnee was nothing but a stickler for tradition. He loved control, and more importantly, he loved the recognition of raising two powerful coordinators would bring to him and his company. 

Because it was his company. Nobody had any doubts about that. Sometime before, he had admitted to Willow that he only married her for the money, and something inside her… broke. She’d given into the bottle, and nothing had ever really been the same. Love no longer filled the household, assuming it ever had. Whitley already was beginning to come onto his own, a mini-Jacques in every respect. He would be the perfect successor, and Winter and Weiss? They’d be their father’s little porcelain dolls. Paraded around, but never truly allowed to live. 

Well, Weiss decided, she would have to change that. “Snowpea, ice beam!” 

The call went loud and clear, and the Alolan fox began charging up a blast of pure cold. Perhaps too loud and too clear, actually.

Just as she did that Jacques walked past her, about to dial in a number on his Pokégear as he heard the scream from Weiss. With a frustrated sigh he lowered the device and walked straight towards his daughter. “What are you doing?” It cut through the air as he spoke, eyes focused on Weiss.

“What does it look like Father of mine?” Weiss said coldly, years of being around her sister giving her plenty of time to practice. “I’m training my Pokemon. You know, the one you gave me as my _inheritance._ ”

Off to the side, Latias watched nervously from the trees. Being a psychic type she could feel the sheer raw emotion in the air. And it was bubbling and about to come to a broil. She’d watched the… relationship -though it could barely be called that- between father and daughter deteriorate. Little by little, slowly but surely over each passing year. Weiss stumbling into her father’s dirty dealings had been the spark of it, she was sure. Little by little, Weiss had begun to realize her prison however gilded it was, was still just a prison in the end. Her father showing her off to his associates, never allowing her much freedom as she grew older? It slowly began to dawn on her that she wasn’t much more than just a trophy. Just like her mother.

“Ice beam is hardly a move I would call glamorous enough to make any judge give it a win in a contest. So why are you trying to train it to your Pokemon?” Jacques countered, eying her just as intently as before.

“Glamour has nothing to do with it,” Weiss said simply. “Practicality and versatility, however… It’s a dangerous world out there. The mountains are home to a variety of dragon types. You have heard the weekly reports of Salamence attacks right? Better for me to be able to defend myself than get eaten alive. Oh, I bet you’d love that, your ‘precious’ daughter devoured by dragons.”

“No need for that. That’s what bodyguards are for. You should concentrate on how to wow the judges, that’s all. Not waste your Pokemon’s time with something as useless as this,” he returned dismissively. 

“Useless?” Weiss said. “I doubt that very much. There _are_ people out there who would love nothing more than to steal Latias, you know that as well as I. Bodyguards can’t always help. I am not your little doll father of mine.”

“And your little Pokemon can do what a group of bodyguards can’t do? Don’t make me laugh. There is no need for you to dabble in such maneuvers. And that is the last word on the matter!” Jacques nearly snapped just barely keeping his composure.

“Team Rocket is still out there, lurking in the shadows,” Weiss challenged. “Consider this me making myself feel better. And this is not getting into the other evil teams like say, this Team Galactic we are hearing rumors about.”

She knew that was a low blow, but hopefully that would make her father see sense. See reason and back off.

Jacques however just narrowed his eyes. “We don’t talk about them here! And I said, stop with this stupid idea. You are supposed to concentrate on your contests, not on this! I will not hear anything else!”

Weiss stared her father down. “I am a lot of things, I must admit. But I am not your little doll. I am a growing girl myself. I don’t know whether you’ve forgotten that or it never actually occurred to you in the first place but my life is my own to live. I have the ability to choose,” she said sternly poking her father in the chest. “Mother may not have that freedom since you broke her, and Whitley may not have a choice since you started to mold him, and Winter? Well, Winter made up her own choice a long time ago when she decided to join the military. You were proud of her then, defending the country. So why can’t you be proud of me and _my_ choices?”

Jacques took a deep breath before coldy stating: “Because I know what’s best for this family. I sacrificed a lot for it! But all my actions are to further our success. While Winter took a path I did not entirely agree with, her actions still benefit our family. Having a veteran who faithfully serves her country is always good for the image, even if she could have done more as a coordinator, but we still have you. Whitley will take over the company, so this leaves you to take up this important role. Don’t be selfish and stab us in the back for some fruitless dream you would never even archive in the first place!”

“Is that a challenge, father?” Weiss asked. “You do know how us Schnees love the challenge!”

For a split second, a smirk shot across his lips before it returned to his previous, serious expression. “Well, if you are so interested in the challenge, why not. You have one year. One year to beat the Pokemon League. Anything else would be shameful for a Schnee. And, when you fail, you will give up this silly little dream of yours and return to your family duties. But if you miraculously manage to succeed, then you can continue this dream of yours. A Pokemon Champion is just as good, if not better than a top tier coordinator.” 

“Challenge… accepted.” Weiss said.

\------

The present day, and Weiss awoke with a groan to the songs of pidgeys and taillows singing their morning songs. The songs of the sparrow-like pokemon came straight as an arrow, Solgaleo’s sun shining through the curtains. With a sigh, Weiss slowly but surely rose out of bed like some sort of zombie. Ugh, she really didn’t need to remember any of that.

Going to the bathroom, and running a comb through her hair again -a lady must always go for a good first impression after all- she reached around for the toothpaste. Then came a voice. _“Memories again?”_ Latias asked her warm voice filtering itself inside her mind. Even as Weiss brushed her teeth, she looked back to see the legendary dragon already laying her clothes out on her bed. 

_“What do you think?”_ Weiss returned to her partner. It was _way_ too early in the morning for this. _“I remembered him you know. Father.”_

_“He is not your father, no matter how much he claims to be,”_ Latias replied her voice growing a dangerous edge. _“He is simply your sperm donor, nothing more or nothing less. That… man doesn’t deserve the title.”_

For a moment, it sounded as if Latias was going to substitute ‘man’ for something a little stronger. Rely on her to be polite, even when speaking of her father. _“Yes, be that as it may,”_ Weiss replied now doing her hair up into a ponytail. _“We still are no closer to reaching our goal of becoming a Pokemon Champion. We’re lollygagging, we only have half the year left!”_

_“Half the year seems an apt enough time to challenge the next four gyms and then move onto the Elite Four,”_ Latias considered. _“However… I fear…”_

_“Fear?”_ Weiss asked. _“Fear what?”_

_“I fear you will be alone doing so,”_ Latias mused.

_“Alone?”_ Weiss asked with her voice taking on a distinctive tremble. For a moment, the Ice Queen was gone, and instead one very lonely little girl who had to grow up far too fast re-emerged. _“You’re… you’re not planning on leaving me are you?”_

_“No, it is not that. It is never that. I fear that when you reach the top, it will be very lonely. You have us, but your Pokemon are just your team. We are not… your friends. At least, not your human ones.”_

_“I don’t need human friends, I have you guys,”_ Weiss replied. 

_“You miss my point,”_ Latias said.

_“No I don’t think I do. You want me to make nice with that Ruby Rose don’t you?”_ Weiss asked. Latia’s silence said it all, even as Weiss changed out of her sleep shirt, and into a nice white dress. Slipping a bolero over her shoulders, she grabbed a bag full of Pokeballs. _“Well, newsflash, it’s not going to happen!”_

_“That’s your father talking,”_ Latias said. _“Not you, he always wanted you to make friends with the right people. Well, have you ever considered Ruby might be the ‘right’ person for you? Yes, she infuriates you so, but I think she makes a very nice balance to your… Weissness.”_

_“That’s not even a word!”_ Weiss said heading outside of her suite, and summoned Snowpea to her side. Ordering her to fire off an ice beam at the nearest tree, a tailow crashed to the ground and was swiftly captured. 

Latias rolled her eyes. _“I think you’re following your father’s ways too much if you were to ask me.”_

_“I’m not though!”_ Weiss said. Again, Latias ignored her and continued speaking.

_“What I mean is, yes being the regional champion is an admirable goal but so is heading to the Silver Conference and taking it all. That alone should both equally impress your father and yet allow you to say, yes I did this without you having to say you followed your father’s words to the letter. It allows you to do something that you want, not what your father wants.”_

_“That… that actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but we have to get moving. No more spending time in this city and worrying about a dolt without a clue. We go to Cianwood City, then to Olivine and then whatever comes next. We take the league by storm!”_

As Latias praised her, saying that was the spirit Weiss smirked to herself. It was time to take off in a headwind, and prove to her father that above all else… Her creed still stood. As she walked, she thought to herself one thing and one thing only. _“This life is mine.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah, Jacques is a bastard. No surprise there. Heads I win, tails you lose with him. He gets what he wants either way. Now, I really must thank a friend of mine from FIMfic and Discord, Layton13 for helping me with the major conversation between Jacques and Weiss here. Really helped to bring out the major league bastard in the Schnee Patriarch. That's also where the Tailow comes in, given I know he's a major fan of Swellow. Besides, Weiss needs a flying type anyways.
> 
> Now, so yeah Weiss will be vanishing from the story for a few chapters, but it gives us more time with Ruby and her big upcoming showdown with Morty so... win-win.


	5. 5: Dog Days

Unaware of Weiss skipping town, Ruby continued training as usual. She needed to bump her team up a few levels if they were going to take on Morty, and… oh yes, there was that _other_ issue.

“Uh… down boy?” Ruby said nervously, taking a few steps back as she eyed the Houndoom, who was currently growling up a storm at her. Embers licked at his maw, the Dark-type looking anything but being man’s best friend that most dog pokemon were known for. “Nice puppy?”

 _“I’m not so sure he’s a puppy,”_ Zwei pointed out. _“I hate to be the one to say this, but you may have bit off more than you can chew by capturing this one. Houndooms are pack animals, and you took this one away from his pack.”_

“Well, he’s just going to have to get used to a new pack, us!” Ruby replied, chipper as always. Houndoom growled, evidently he’d heard her. Zwei facepawed.

 _“Bad move, mistress,”_ he sighed. _“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I’m not sure you can win this one. There are some Pokemon who refuse to be tamed by trainers, they’re just too… wild. Houndoom have a known record for this, they prefer to be left alone with their pack and once removed from it…”_

Ah, right. Ruby had only just remembered the stories she’d heard of Houndoom tearing their trainers to pieces if they weren’t raised right. Problem was, more often than not, nobody had figured out exactly _how_ to raise a Houndoom right. It seemed to differ from species member to species member.

Sawsbuck, meanwhile stepped in between the dark-type and his trainer, snorting dangerously. _“You want to get to her, you have to go through me capiche?”_

For a moment, Houndoom looked as if he was going to try something, but he then remembered just how badly the grass type had beaten him back in the forest that night. His pride wounded, but humbled enough, he decided to just lay down, curl up, and go to sleep with one wary eye on his new trainer. 

\------

There was a running joke in the Pokemon community, that a Pokemon trainer’s rite of passage was to face off against whatever evil team seemed to be rising to prominence at the time. Take Team Galactic. A few years ago, their boss had completely lost it and decided to remake the entire Pokemon universe with him as this god-like figure. Obviously, that hadn’t ended well and he’d ended up devoured by the Lord of the Reverse World, Giratina. 

The team had been shaken by the loss of their leader, some truly stunned and amazed at his true end goal. But as always, they regrouped and rebuilt from the shadows.

Saturn had been given the none too pleasurable task of regrouping the team after Cyrus’ unfortunate demise. She knew when to cut her losses, Mars and Jupiter were too loyal to Cyrus to justify keeping around any longer, and yet she also knew she wasn’t the right person to lead.

No, the team needed someone with actual strength. It was about time to unveil their new Queen.

“Team Galactic,” Saturn said at the monthly budget meeting. “Clearly, electing Cyrus as our leader was a mistake.”

At this, she was greeted with assorted mumblings and grumblings. Clearly, not all shared her sentiment. 

“He would have had us all destroyed!” Saturn went on. “I ask you, is that the sound judgment of a good leader? Or is it the ramblings of a madman? Had Cyrus’ own pride not devoured him first, his own mad ambitions would have devoured us all! That is why I propose a change.”

More mumblings and grumblings, and both Mars and Jupiter stood up. Mars in particular went as red as her hair, glaring venomously at Saturn. “Cyrus founded the Team! He brought us from the street and gave us all purpose!”

Jupiter spoke. “You speak of treason,” the woman said. “You’re swaying from our original ideals. We were to make a better world. No, a better universe. This one is rotting.”

A Kadabra and a Toxicroak appeared in flashes of light, Saturn not really appearing all that afraid of either of the two Pokemon sent at her. Then, in a flash of white light, a towering Golurk loomed over the two Cyrus loyalists. It slammed a fist into an outstretched palm. An equally powerful Rampardos snorted fire from its nostrils. 

“So this is how it is?” Mars asked as all around them, grunts took their sides and jumped to their respective commander’s defense. It seemed as if a full-scale civil war was about to break out. “You intend to fracture us, and seize power with whoever’s left over? If you ask me, you’re the mad one here!”

“No, I have a vision of something beyond remaking the universe. Something more… sensible, really. It’s just a shame you won’t see it,” Saturn said. “I really did love working with you Commander Mars. However, a good boss knows when to cut someone free once they’ve become a problem.”

Twin gunshots rang out and both Mars and Jupiter crumpled to the floor, blood oozing out from their skulls. In walked a woman in a black dress, with unnaturally pale hair. By her side was this black-haired woman in a red dress holding a smoking pistol. 

“Lady Salem…” someone breathed and pulled up a chair for the long lost commander. Before Mars and Jupiter, there was Salem and Cinder. They’d left Team Galactic for undisclosed reasons, only citing ‘creative differences’. In hindsight, it had been clear what exactly those creative differences were. 

Cinder, with only a look in her eye, gestured for two grunts to drag the bodies out of the room and mop up the blood. It didn’t take long for two grunts to follow her orders, and soon Salem gave an eerie smile.

“Now, let’s get down to business shall we?” the woman asked with a dark look in her eye, and a little laugh. 

\------

Returning to the outskirts of Ecruteak City, Ruby could feel one of her Poke Balls thrashing about. She could tell that it was Houndoom, seeing as how the thing was already feral enough when she was trying to catch it. If it was this vicious even after the Poke Ball confirmed that it now belonged to her, how hard would it be to make the beast listen to her once she let it out of the ball?

 _“I’m telling you, Mistress,”_ Zwei started, the Herdlier swiftly being cut off.

“...I’ve told you not to call me that,” Ruby reminded him. “Makes me feel as if you’re my slave or something. You’re my friend! Now, if only I could figure out how to make Houndoom my friend…”

 _“I’m not sure he wants to be your friend,”_ Zwei said. _“I appreciate your optimism, but if you’re going to tackle Morty, you’re going to have to find another dark type for your team.”_

“NO!” Ruby exclaimed. “Every Pokemon can be tamed, just you watch. It just takes grit, and determination and… probably a lot of other big words I haven’t learned yet, but just you watch, I will tame Houndoom or…”

 _“Die trying?”_ Zwei offered. Ruby ignored him.

“Now, shall we try again?” Ruby said, nervously taking out Houndoom’s pokeball and tossing it. With a flash of white light, once again the Dark-type stood in the clearing. As soon as it saw Ruby, it began to snap and snarl at his ‘trainer’.

“Easy boy... “ Said Ruby, raising a hand defensively as the territorial Houndoom glared into her eyes. “I know you’re mad at me, but you’re my Pokemon now. We need to get along, right?” Ruby reached into her bags for something that would make him happy. Haphazardly, she fished out some Figy Berries. “H-here! I have food! Food makes a Pokemon happy, right?” Ruby lightly chucked the berries to Houndoom, who just sliced them with its pointed tail and crushed the remains under its’ paw, completely unfazed by the gunk on its foot.

“...guess you’re not a fan of spicy foods huh?” Ruby giggled nervously. Houndoom didn’t look amused. Instead, it snapped and snarled at Ruby, eyes a deep furious red as the dark type seemingly sized Ruby up for a meal. 

Ruby had every reason to suspect this, having heard of Houndooms taking chunks out of their trainers if they didn’t like them. See, Pokemon were rated by classes due to how dangerous some could be or if they had special needs when being trained. Dragon types like Hydregion? They were a high-class S due to how ferocious they could be. Houndoom, like their fellow dark type Mightyena, were a class B, advised for only ‘experienced’ trainers with a couple of years under their belt. Even then, it wasn’t always a guarantee that said trainers could get through to them. Ruby had heard from her mom about her friend James Ironwood having issues with his houndoom. There was a reason he had a few prosthetics nowadays, let’s put it that way. 

_“Mistress…”_ Zwei was about to speak as he locked eyes with the Houndoom. If he had to, he would battle the Pokemon just to teach it his place in the hierarchy. That was his job, he was leader of the pack. Some Pokemon just needed to be taught that at times.

“No, Zwei! I need to do this,” said Ruby, raising a hand to Zwei. “I need to prove that I can handle Pokemon like this. No matter how big, grouchy, and upset they are, I can make them my friends!”

Houndoom’s cold and steely glare pierced into Ruby’s soul. It was as if he were a demon from hell, or something similar to one. Then again, it did fit with his design. But she knew that even Houndoom could be reasoned with. She just needed to figure out how to do it. And clearly, judging from the messy splatter of Figy Berry juice emanating from its paw, it wasn’t hungry.

“Hmm…” Ruby looked in her bag for something else that Pokemon loved to do. Fishing through all of her supplies, she eventually found some kind of Poke Toy that she had been using to train Zwei. Though, she was doubtful that it would work on an angry Houndoom like this one. And there weren’t any wild pokemon in the city where she could order it to take out its frustrations on. Ruby didn’t even think about trying to break Houndoom in with a proper Pokemon battle, as in that state, Houndoom would have probably gone on a rampage and attacked everything around it without rhyme or reason, trainer and herself included. 

“Oh, come on, you stupid bag! Work with me here!” Ruby hollered as she just turned it upside down and spilled all the contents onto the ground. “Give me _something_ to get this Houndoom under control!”

Oh, if Weiss were here, she’d surely be laughing her butt off. That thought really burned Ruby up. Finally, she managed to sort through the contents of her bag, fishing out a squeaky toy. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. Plus, it was one of those extra-durable ones as well. Or at least, that was what the shop said it was. Surely, it’d be able to stand up to the ferocious jaws of a Houndoom, right?

“Alright. Come on. Take the bite…” Ruby said, holding the toy towards Houndoom. She watched as the Pokemon leered at the toy in her hands. It offended him just looking at it. Opening his jaws wide, he clamped down hard on the end of the toy and ripped it from Ruby’s hands, ravaging it as any beastly dog would.

“Well, it was worth a shot…” Ruby sighed, sweat dropping and nearly sinking to the ground in comical fashion. Clearly a new approach was needed. She had to be firm with this Pokemon! Yeah, she could be firm right? Yep, she definitely could be firm! Well then! Time to lay down the law on this bad dog. No more Miss Nice Rose!

Breaking out the pointer figure, she gestured at Houndoom. “Alright that’s enough!” she barked, no pun intended, at the naughty Houndoom. “You’ve had your fun, but remember, I’m your boss now! I captured you, and I’m going to train you! So you will listen to me, or you’re going to regret it!”

She got a blast of fire in the face for her troubles. Ruby groaned, her face covered in ashes, and some ends of her red hair singed off. 

_“Way to tell him, Rubes…”_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like her sister’s commented. 

“Bad doggy!” Ruby wagged her finger at Houndoom. “We don’t Flamethrower our friends!” 

_“Yes, well we are not friends,”_ the dark type rumbled, finally speaking. _“And I would rather you not mistake us as such. You are not my pack, and I’d rather you leave me alone. Now please leave.”_

“Nonsense!” Ruby said. “You’ll come around, everyone always does. Now how could you just ignore a face like this, hmm?” 

_“Easy. Like this,”_ said the Houndoom before he pawed at the ground, curled up, made a rather deliberate show of yawning before with a flick of his tail he beaned Ruby in the face with his own Pokeball and went to sleep. 

Later that day, Ruby explained her woes to Blake over lunch in Ecruteak proper. 

“He’s… he’s so rude!” Ruby babbled with an angry look in her eyes. She gestured to where Houndoom had beaned her with a finger. “I’ve got a black eye!”

“That bad?” Blake took a look at the eye. “I knew that Houndoom were aggressive, but I didn’t think that it applied to their trainers once they caught them. Usually, they accept their capture with dignity.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Ruby whined. “I have to make this Houndoom my friend, or I’ll never be able to show up that snob, Weiss!”

“You’re a bit late for that one,” Blake commented. “Weiss skipped town early this morning.”

 _“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?”_ Ruby shouted, and you could probably hear her shout a few blocks over, pidgeys scattering to the wind.

“Didn’t you hear? She’s going to try and challenge the League. So for that, she’s gotta go get the badges,” Blake replied once Ruby had calmed down and the Pidgeys had long since vacated the scene. “Something about wanting to live up to the Schnee name. Typical. Daddy’s little princess wants to live up to her father’s reputation.”

Ruby snorted. “...with any luck the next gym will toss her out on her butt with how rude she is.”

“Yeah. And make headlines. That’s the problem with facing a Schnee. If you even look at them funny, they can overplay it and blow you out of the water,” Blake flexed her hands. “Media’s full of ravenous human houndoom like the one you’ve got in your Pokemon. The only difference is, you can control a Pokemon. You can’t do the same for people.”

“...I always compared them to mandibuzz, actually…” Ruby said and Blake actually cracked a genuine smile.

“Fair enough.” Blake chuckled.

“So how am I supposed to train this houndoom?” Ruby had to wonder. “I’m nearly at my wit’s end with him!”

“Let me see how bad it is, okay?” Blake said. “Then we can go from there, alright? You’re not the first to try really training a houndoom, there’s been a few books written on the subject. I’ll run back to the store, grab a few and we can go from there alright?”

So, after Blake grabbed as many Helpful Hints -fifteen years and running!- books as she could carry, the black-haired beauty and Ruby took to a deserted alleyway behind the stores and shops. Nervously, Ruby sat Houndoom’s poke ball down, before pressing it open and Houndoom emerged once more.

Giving Ruby a reproachful glare, the dog pokemon eyed Blake with no small amount of suspicion. _“Who’s she, another one of your friends?”_ he rumbled.

“Yes. I am,” said Blake, squatting down to look directly into Houndoom’s eyes. “Blake Belladonna. I heard that you weren’t treating Ruby right.”

 _“And why should I? She thinks she can force her will upon me,”_ the pokemon replied. _“I’m not having it.”_

“You make it sound like Poke-Rape,” Blake dryly replied. 

_“It’s just as humiliating, really. Me, captured by a human trainer!”_ Houndoom growled, pawing at the ground.

“Ruby means well,” Blake said, carefully kneeling down to Houndoom’s level. “She’s just… impulsive. Doesn’t always think things through, y’know?”

A small squeaky little “Hey!” came from behind them. Blake ignored it.

 _“You disapprove of Ruby’s actions?”_ Houndoom’s ear perked up. This was news to him. _“Well then…”_

“She means well enough, but as I said. She doesn’t always think things through before going through with them,” Blake said. “I’ve known her long enough to figure that out.”

 _“So you’re like her mate then?”_ Houndoom asked, tilting his head.

At this, both Blake and Ruby blushed varying shades and stammered out denials.

 _“Huh, could have fooled me…”_ Houndoom muttered. _“In any event, I’m not sure if…”_

“Not sure if what?” Ruby piped up. “That I’m a bad trainer?”

 _“I thought we already established that.”_ Houndoom said.

“You are young and inexperienced,” Blake agreed. 

“You’re not supposed to agree with him…” Ruby whined.

“It’s true, Ruby. I mean, you only started out… How long ago? A week? Month?” Blake asked.

“A year!” Ruby replied, stamping her foot. “You know that as well as I do!”

 _“You sure don’t act like it…”_ Houndoom sweatdropped. 

“So that’s your problem with me?” Ruby asked. “I’m just nowhere near mature enough?” 

_“One of them, yeah.”_ Houndoom nodded. _“As for the others, well, first of all, I’m not a fan of Figy berries, that toy you gave me is for infant Pokemon, and I’m not at the point where you’re supposed to be showing me affection.”_

“And trying to bite me?” Ruby asked her hands on her hips, Blake shooting Houndoom a disapproving look. Houndoom said nothing.

“Maybe you should contact your mother,” Blake advised. “She’s been at this longer than you have, maybe she’s got an idea of what to do here.”

“Yeah…” Ruby agreed. Oh, this was going to be fun. But managing to find a video phone outside Belladonna Books, she called her mother and explained the situation.

 _“A Houndoom? Ruby, please tell me you’re being extra careful. They’re a class-B Pokemon for a reason. Remember what happened to James!”_ Summer reminded in a concerned tone.

“I’m trying, mom. But this Houndoom hates me…” Ruby moaned as she looked again to the beast, who just turned away, almost as if it were pouting. “What am I supposed to do about it?”

 _“You’re a Rose, and Roses never give up,”_ Summer said. _“I’m sure you’ll find a way. Have you noticed anything… off about the Houndoom’s behavior?”_

“Well, now that you mention it, he does seem rather lonely…” Ruby snapped her fingers about then. “Of course, that’s it! How could I have been so stupid! It’s obvious! He misses his pack!”

Blake shot her friend an approving smile. There was the Ruby she knew.

“That settles it then! Tonight, I’m going to go back out into that forest, and catch me another Houndoom!’ Ruby shouted, punching the air. “Team Ruby, assemble, and go forth!”

 _“Oh Arceus above, help me…”_ Houndoom moaned to himself. He really was stuck with this lunatic.

\------

Meanwhile, deep within the corridors of Team Galactic’s new headquarters, the word was being passed around from grunt to grunt as they watched Salem and Cinder waltz through the halls dominantly, as if they were strong enough to match wits with Cyrus and come out the winners. Even Saturn; the sole remaining Team Galactic Admin couldn’t help but feel an aura of intimidation from these new women. Having seen Cinder slaughter Mars and Jupiter so freely…

They’d been loyal to Cyrus, sure and she’d been planning on disposing of them anyways but in a single swoop, the balance of power had been changed.

“So, what’s your plan now?” Cinder asked Salem. “You do have a plan, right?”

“Of course I do, I’d rather you not question me,” Salem replied. “Cyrus was a fool, thinking he could bend the very laws of the universe to his whim. His arrogance was his undoing. Firstly, we have to root out his supporters from my team. Cauterize the wound. Team Galactic is rotting. Only then, and only then can we proceed with the next stage. Where’s Tyrian? I have need of him.”

“He’s gone off-grid, haven’t been able to find him. Apologies,” Cinder said quickly.

“Oh well, that’s to be expected,” Salem sighed. “He’s probably beating up a member of Team Rocket somewhere I suspect, wrestling them out of whatever fossil they’re trying to sell on the black market. Can’t fault him for that, we need cash. When he shows up again, contact him.”

“You do realize the rest of Galactic isn’t going to be pleased with such a blunt instrument?” Cinder asked hesitantly. “Tyrian’s far from subtle.”

“Let them complain, there’s a new order. Gone are the days of Cyrus and his madness,” Salem said. “Now there is only the one immortal me.”

“Speaking of cash,” Cinder swallowed at Salem’s proclamation. “The Schnee Corporation, they used to be old allies of Cyrus’s. You don’t think we can…”

“An excellent idea! You’re showing initiative, _Commander_ Cinder,” Salem smiled, and at this Cinder’s eyes widened before she quickly regained her composure. “I need people like you in the new order. Send our feelers out, tell dear old Frere Jacques that I want to speak with him.”

“Even better!” Cinder thought. “I shall go and pay him a visit _myself_.”

“I knew I made the right choice,” Salem appraised. Cinder beamed.

Soon, Cinder was on a plane and soon she’d arrived at the mansion of one Nicolas Schnee. Tall and imposing, the mansion towered over her. Cinder snorted, clearly, the Schnee Patriarch was overcompensating for _something_. She stepped inside, and found herself gazing at a portrait that showed the family. As ever, Jacques never seemed to be smiling, while his wife looked as if she was just barely able to be happy. Well, Cinder couldn’t say she blamed her, given who she was married to. It seemed Jacques had just as much of a silver tongue for marriage as he did for the boardroom. 

“I’d figured you’d be paying me a visit soon,” said a voice from behind her. Cold, and unfeeling like the winter’s chill. “I’ve heard the rumors that Team Galactic had a regime change. And the new boss is reasserting her authority.”

Cinder’s breath caught in her throat as she turned. “Jacques.” 

“Don’t look so surprised,” the businessman said. “I’ve got spies everywhere, it pays to be well-connected.”

“How’s your daughter?” Cinder smiled. “Heard your youngest was starting out on a journey of her own.”

“Yes, well children do what they want,” Jacques replied with very little joy. “Let’s dispense with the pleasantries, shall we? Team Galactic is severely lacking in funding since Cyrus’s… let’s say unfortunate passing. You need more funds, and therefore you need me.”

“...you’ve hit the nail on the head as always Jacques,” Cinder replied.

“Only my friends get to call me that,” Jacques replied. “You’re not my friend just yet, but perhaps you can be. Shall we discuss our new deal over a drink?”

“Aren’t you worried about your wife?” Cinder asked. Jacques smiled coldly, as frigid as the Sinnoh chill.

“She’s long since learned to be seen and not heard, she is not an issue for us,” Jacques said as he led Cinder up to his private office. 

As they entered, Cinder, out of the corner of her eye, caught several news clippings. They read things like ‘Weiss Schnee thrashes Ecruteak City Gym, who’s afraid of no ghost?’ and things like that. Cinder doubted her father kept them out of pride for his daughter. 

“Now…” Jacques spoke as he pulled out a pen. “Shall we discuss our new deal?”

\------

That night, both Blake and Ruby ventured into the forests, Blake’s Elgyem scouting ahead and keeping an eye out for anything really dangerous. So far, nothing had popped up. Yet. At least, nothing that the two were looking for. The forests were alive, even at this time of night. Pineco hung from the trees, spinarak crawling up thick trunks and skittering out of sight as noctowls hooted off in the distance. 

Even in the dead of night, the moonlight still trickled down through the leaves into the forest, creating a myriad of uneven lights, almost acting as guiding cats eyes for weary travellers. The tranquil bushes and shrubs also stood respectfully still, save for when Ruby, Blake, and their Pokemon went through them. There was also a small pond in the distance with the moon’s rays reflecting off of the surface of the water, illuminating more corners of the thicket around them.

A herd of sawsbuck galloped by, thundering past as they vanished back into the dark woods, and a deep low howl split the cool night air. Long and sorrowful, the song went and a chill ran down Blake’s spine. 

“...well, we’re getting pretty close to the pack, I’d think,” Blake remarked. “Should be just a few minutes more of hiking through the forest. Ruby, you sure you thought this through? This isn’t one of your impulsive things right?”

“What? Pshaw, no! See, you said it yourself. Houndoom is a pack animal, he simply misses his pack. We go and capture one or two more, and he’ll be happy,” Ruby said waving her off. “And I’ll be happy, as he’ll be far more receptive to being trained am I right or am I right? Win-Win situation all around!”

“I’m just saying, you barely escaped with your life last time you went in this deep. Houndooms are very territorial Pokemon,” Blake pointed out.

“Well, I’m not alone this time am I?” Ruby said, throwing an arm around Blake. “I’ve got you, and besides Houndoom can vouch for my credibility!”

“I’m not sure Houndoom _wants_ to ‘vouch’ for you. Friendly reminder.”

“I think he’s coming around, see?” Ruby said pointing to where the dark type was walking a few feet in front of them. “Hasn’t tried to torch either of us!”

“If you say so…” Blake murmured.

“C’mon! Have a little bit more faith in me!” Ruby said chipperly. 

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Houndoom sniffed the air. A familiar scent caught his nose and it wasn’t long before he barrelled into the shrubs to see where it went. At this point, he didn’t care whether or not his ‘trainer’ came looking for him. He _needed_ to see where this trail went.

“Ruby, as much as I wanna have faith in you, you’re chasing after some pretty dangerous Pokemon right now. Houndooms are one thing, but imagine running into a pack of rabid Zangoose out here,” Blake cautioned. “A group of Pokemon can easily fell a trainer with little effort. That’s what mom and dad always told me when I was in preschool. Quantity vs quality.”

“My luck’s not…” Ruby started to say before remembering what happened every time she seemed to come into this forest. “...okay, yeah it is that bad. Who knows though, maybe third time’s the charm?”

“If you say so…” Blake muttered.

“I’m just saying, Arceus doesn’t _totally_ hate me!” Ruby continued. “Besides, I’d actually think he’d be smiling on me today because I’m actually reuniting Houndoom with some of his family and friends!”

“Speaking of which, where is Houndoom?” Blake lifted a brow as she surveyed the area around for Ruby’s Houndoom.

“Oh, I’m sure he just got a little bit excited to see his friends again, that’s all!” Ruby replied. “He’ll be back.”

“Or he could have run off,” Blake pointed out before grabbing Ruby by the arm. “Now come on, unless you want to lose your dog…”

Together, they ran deeper into the forest and eventually caught up with Houndoom.

 _“You needn't have worried,”_ the dark type replied before sighing in resignation. _“I wouldn’t have abandoned you. As much as I dislike you, you’re my trainer now. There’s a code of honor about these things, just abandoning one’s trainer to the wilds simply isn’t done.”_

Ruby hugged the dark type tightly exclaiming: “I knew you didn’t hate me completely!”

Blake facepalmed and Houndoom grumbled: _“Please don’t touch me…”_

“Totally tsundere…” Ruby giggled.

 _“I’d ask what that means, but I’m not sure what I want to know…”_ Houndoom uttered.

“So, Weiss really skipped town?” Ruby said to Blake as they climbed down an embankment and into a small river ravine. “Like, she seriously actually did that?”

“Yep,” Blake replied. “Seemed to be in a bit of a rush, actually. Not sure why. The League can wait, right? She’s still got half the year left before the thing starts. Plenty of time to grab badges.”

“Yes, well, for Weiss, competition is everything,” Ruby sighed. “She can’t just enjoy life can she? I mean, look at me, I don’t rush from place to place. I mean, I’ve been in Ecruteak for a few days now. Perfect for training and all right? Of course, Miss Ice Queen doesn’t seem to need training, she’s Miss Perfect…”

_“I’m guessing this ‘Weiss’ is your personal rival?”_

“I guess you could say that yeah…” Ruby replied.

_“I’ve met Pokemon like her, they crumble when faced with a real challenge.”_

“I’m… I’m sorry, but did you just give me a compliment?” Ruby asked. “I didn’t even know you could do that.”

 _“I was merely giving advice,”_ Houndoom noted. _“Take it as you will.”_

“Yeah, well, Miss Perfect has a Latias. How am I supposed to challenge _that_ huh?”

 _“Truly?”_ Houndoom blinked. _“One of the Eon Duo?”_

“Apparently so…” Ruby grumbled. “Of course the Ice Queen would have one, daddy dearest probably gave it to her… Man, rich people get all the cool toys!”

“Isn’t your mom rich?” Blake reminded.

“...agh, you know what I mean!” Ruby grumbled.

There was some rustling from the nearby bushes. It was erratic and constant. Ruby and Blake stood on guard, ready to fight for their lives against whatever could have been lurking inside of it. Eventually, whatever was moving burst out, with a pack of more Houndooms and some Houndor standing before them. The sight was enough to make Ruby’s Houndoom recoil and widen his eyes.

“...well, we found your pack,” Ruby said in a small voice.

 _“I...Indeed you did,”_ Houndoom tried to be strong, but seeing his pack was enough to make him choke up on sentiment.

“Right, we just capture two, and then we get out of here,” Blake said. “Agreed?”

“Tell them that!” Ruby said. “Not sure they’re exactly onboard with that plan… Porygon2, I choose you! Thunder Wave, now!”

The duck-like Virtual Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, and golden waves of electricity stunned some of the pack members long enough for Blake to shout out an order.

“Elgyem, Dark Pulse!” the bookkeeper stated, and the little alien-like Pokemon hummed before firing off a wave of shadowy energy at the pack of dark-types. 

One Houndoom howled in pain, before firing off a powerful flamethrower at Elgyem, and Porygon2 jumped in front of the attack, creating an energy shield. The flames washed over the shield, lighting up the clearing in a display of bright orange light. Porygon2 rushed forwards, slamming into the hellhound with a powerful Giga Impact. 

The dark-type was sent hurtling backwards, but soon recovered it’s balance, sliding along the ground with its paws and kicking up dust and dirt. It gathered dark energy in it’s maw, before firing off a shadow ball straight at the little virtual duck. Elgyem’s eyes glowed a sharp green, before it raised its hands and rocks imprisoned the attacking pokemon. 

“Ruby, now!” Blake shouted, and Ruby pulled out one of a few repeat balls she’d bought just for this express purpose. Tossing it, the Houndoom was sucked inside, and after a few brief frightening moments, the Pokeball dinged signaling a successful capture. However, neither Ruby nor Blake was allowed to go get it as the Houndooms were pushed into a fury at seeing another of their packmates captured. They surrounded the Poke Ball with ferocity in their eyes, ready to strike down the poachers who had invaded their territory.

Ruby’s Houndoom saw the discord between the pack and the trainers and leaped into the fray. He stood in front of Ruby and Blake like a loyal guard dog would, staring down the rest of his so-called pack. _“Back away!”_ he snapped. “ _We might not be pleased with the results, but there is no arguing with the catch. Your packmate has been caught by Ruby Rose. That’s not worth contending. It was a fair catch. Or would you rather Ruby catch all of you as well?_ ”

One of the Houndooms, seething with this Houndoom’s betrayal of the pack charged forward and leapt at it, ready to strike it with Crunch. Ruby’s Houndoom simply launched a Flamethrower at it, the flaming blast erupting as it made contact with the aggressor, stopping it dead in its tracks. Another Houndoom tried to make the next attack with Pursuit, only for it to be stopped by Elygem’s Dark Pulse again.

 _“Well? If you all want to be captured so badly, then go for it! Ruby’s got more than enough Poke Balls to ensnare all of you!”_ Houndoom taunted. _“Miss Rose, you’d better get ready, because you might just be about to catch a whole pack of houndoom.”_

“In for a penny, in for a pound…” Ruby muttered. “Boy, Professor Magnolia’s going to be surprised with this…”

Tossing several more repeat balls, some made contact and sucked the houndoom inside. Not all managed to stay inside, but it bought Porygon2 enough time to grab the ones that had been captured and toss their balls to his trainer. 

“And now we run…” Blake said, seeing the unhappy dark types charging up their flamethrowers.

“No arguing with you there!” Ruby yelped as they beat feet.

“What’s that about third time’s the charm?” Blake snarked.

“Hey, got my houndoom didn’t I?” Ruby snarked back. “So I’d say I got lucky!”

“Yeah, assuming we live to tell the tale!” Blake returned as Ruby’s Houndoom ran up alongside the two.

 _“Grab onto my horns, Miss Rose, Miss Belladonna. I’ll get you out of here,”_ the Dark Pokémon said, using Ruby’s Houndoomite to evolve into his Mega Form, growing much larger and his horns became much more pronounced. 

**_“Houndoom's entire body generates heat when it Mega Evolves. Its fearsome fiery breath turns its opponents to ash. It’s red claws and the tips of its tail are melting due to high internal temperatures that are harmful to even Houndoom itself.”_ **said Ruby’s Pokedex, unhelpfully.

“Gee, thanks for that information, Dex…” Ruby squeaked.

 _“Bah!”_ said Houndoom. _“Useless piece of crap, I can confirm that one as a lie! Sounds like something a mankey would come up just to mess with someone! Now, are you going to grab on, or not?”_

In no room to argue, both Blake and Ruby grabbed on and Houndoom thundered through the forest, leaving embers in his wake as low howls echoed behind him. Twin houndoom leaped out of the shrubbery, claws at the ready, but Ruby’s Houndoom tossed a sludge bomb their way. With a splat, the poison type move impacted and both went down in a heap, trying to rip away the gunk from their faces. Houndoom could only laugh even as the trees started to break away, and soon city lights returned.

“Well… well, that was a rush,” Blake panted and sweated as she climbed off the impossibly large dog. “...never doing that again.”

 _“Agh, you just need more excitement in your life, Miss Belladonna!”_ Houndoom said as Ruby hugged him again. This time, he didn’t object.

“Please… call me Blake.” 

_“And call me Kerberos,”_ the now-named pokemon said. _“Figured you earned my True Name, yeah?”_

\------

Far away, unaware of her rival’s growing power, Weiss had arrived at the mighty Cianwood Gym. Snowpea perched herself on her mistress’s shoulder, as the youngest of the Schnee sisters looked up at the gym, standing tall and proud. 

“Well, Snowpea. We’re really making strides today, aren’t we?” Weiss asked as she petted the Alolan Vulpix on her snowy mane. “Challenging the gyms, making our way to the league, cementing our names in the Pokemon Hall of Fame, if daddy were here right now he would be so proud of me.”

Snowpea snorted. _“Remember, he gave you a year to do all of this, just a year. If you fail, it’s back to doing what your daddy wants.”_

Truthfully, she doubted the Schnee Patriarch would ever be proud of his youngest daughter. She wasn’t sure he even _had_ feelings beyond being angry all the time.

_“Is that a challenge, father?” Weiss asked. “You do know how us Schnees love the challenge!”_

Snowpea shook her head to clear it of those memories. She had to be at her very best today. She wanted to please her mistress, no matter how hard the battles became.

Swelling with vigor and eager to prove to daddy dearest that she could stand on her own as a Schnee, Weiss went into the Gym ready to face her next challenge.

Crashing waterfalls surrounded her, the dojo having an almost zen-like quality to it. A fine mist filled the air, the temperature cool and moist. In the distance, sounds of grunting could be heard. 

“HAH! HAH! HAH!” called out a voice, before a thud as a body hit a mat. Chuck, Weiss remembered. His roaring fists do the talking, the blurb outside the gym had said. The Storm Badge would not be given up so easily. This wasn’t just a gym, it was a _dojo_. And she was now only simple Weiss-san who was about to get floored by Sensei Chuck.

“Oh god…” Weiss breathed out before she steeled herself. _“No, no. A Schnee never shows fear. We conquer!”_

She took the first steps forward and, wanting to make sure that her voice was heard, sucked in some air and proclaimed as loudly and boldly as she could, “MY NAME IS WEISS SCHNEE! AND I AM HERE TO CHALLENGE CHUCK FOR THE GYM BADGE!” And then promptly blinked, stunned as to why she had given herself to the mantras of her opponent.

Silence reigned in the gym, as all the resident students turned to look directly at her. Then, they parted as a true mountain of a man stepped forwards. 

“Oh ho ho! What’s this? A new face at my gym?” He said, staring down little Weiss Schnee. “Well, come on in, make yourself comfortable. And if you want my badge, then you’d better steel yourself. Let me tell you, I'm tough! My Pokémon will crush stones and shatter bones!”

“Well, so am I,” Weiss said, pulling out a Pokeball as Snowpea stood off to the side. “I am a Schnee, and we don’t give up for anything.”

“Oh, I like your spirit!” Chuck grinned. “If anything else, you’ll provide a good show before going down!”

Two pokeballs were thrown, and white flashes of light lit up the arena. Weiss’ Mienfoo, vs Chuck’s Breloom. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. And as if a pin dropped, the battle began, the two’s fighting spirits igniting with a roar.

Hearts pounded like drums as the two combatants became flashes of light, almost invisible to the eye. Then, they reappeared Mienfoo landing a Drain Punch and Breloom a Hi Jump Kick. The two flipped backwards, landing on the dojo floor before they re-engaged. 

Breloom caught Mienfoo’s punch, before landing another powerful kick that Mienfoo rolled out of the way to avoid. The little yellow pokemon tried to sweep Breloom off its feet, but received only poison powder to the face for his troubles. 

Coughing and wheezing, Mienfoo staggered back. Breloom lunged, landing an earth-shaking Focus Punch. 

“Hahaha, looks like the battle’s almost over for your Mienfoo!” Chuck taunted, and Weiss shook her head.

“Yes, you may want to rethink that,” she corrected, as Mienfoo pulled out a pecha berry and began chowing down on it. He was back in the fight. Launching forwards, the Martial Arts Pokémon landed another Drain Punch, and Breloom staggered. 

The Mushroom Pokémon scattered more poisonous powder, but Mienfoo leaped above it and slammed a Force Palm into Breloom’s side, knocking it to the floor. Breloom quickly clambered back to its feet and charged in for another attack. It waited for Mienfoo to jump. And once it did and it Breloom saw Mienfoo unleash another Force Palm, Breloom sidestepped out of the way and delivered a Focus Punch to Mienfoo’s back with as much power as it could muster. Effortlessly, the kung fu weasel Pokemon was sent careening across the stage like a ragdoll, landing back at Weiss’s feet.

But Mienfoo stood tall, and landed another Drain Punch, the energy coming back to him. Every little piece of energy that had been lost from that last Focus Punch was being restored, and Mienfoo’s breathing stabilised, ready to go for another round with Breloom.

But Breloom wasn’t ready, and it stumbled before toppling over in a faint. 

Chuck chuckled. “Okay, so now things are getting interesting…” 

“Told you that you shouldn’t underestimate me,” Weiss said with a haughty little smile, perfected over years of practice. “Now, we going to continue this little banter of ours, or are we going to play?”

Chuck grinned. “Now you’re speaking my language. But be warned, this next Pokemon is going to be your last! This ends now!”

A poliwrath took to the battlefield, and Snowpea leaped forwards ready to defend her trainer’s honor. [ And so the battle resumed… ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTki2sfzsko)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have simply no excuse for taking this long to put this chapter up. None. 
> 
> Anyways, give Shadowmane a pat on the back will you? He got my ass in gear and generally was a huge help with this chapter, fine-tuning it and such. 
> 
> Yes, I lied when I said last chapter was the last you would see of Weiss for a while. At least... at the time. After a bit of thinking, I thought I should continue her story just a bit more, but with not as much focus as Ruby's main story. Consider it a B-Plot. And speaking of B-Plots, enter Cinder and Salem. Hey, every heroic trainer has to face off against an evil team sometime in their life eh?
> 
> Plus, you just knew they had to appear. Like, they had to. It's required. And yes, Kerberos' dig at the Mega Evolution entry on him was a dig at the overly edgy entries nowadays. Like, wow... Some of them hardly seem realistic at times. For a given value of realism anyways. Also, what mom would let their ten year old go out in this world? Like, this is one of gods and monsters. There's a reason I created the class system noted here.


	6. 6: Ain't Afraid of No Ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, really shows how much I cared for the Team Galatic admins if I kept mixing them up, and if the previous chapter required multiple revisions just to get them right eh? I dunno, I like Cyrus, I do, but his admins I guess I don't care much for. So if I screw up their names again, please forgive me.
> 
> This is also the part where I self-admit to mostly having not kept up with Pokemon since Unova, like there's so many mechanics and crap that's new to me. Not to mention the now 1000+ list of Pokemon and growing...
> 
> Anyways, had a hell of a lot of fun writing out this chapter. The added alliteration appeal alone... See how much of that you can spot. And no, I couldn't resist the Ghostbusters reference with the title. Why do you ask? Also, huge shoutout to Therandompers for guessing the mysterious Pokemon following Ruby around!

“Um… wow,” Ruby said as she walked up to the Ecruteak Gym, an old dojo style building and not really at all what she was expecting to see. “...I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe this old haunted manor or something, but certainly not what looks like a dojo. Hey Zwei, sure we haven’t taken a wrong turn and ended up in Cianwood or something?”

 _‘Morty: The mystic seer of the future’_ , the sign outside the gym noted. Mhmm, ominous.

 _“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time…”_ the herdier remarked in a teasing sort of way.

“That was one… okay… two times. Maybe three,” Ruby laughed nervously as she slowly pushed open the door. It opened with a loud _creeeeaaaaakkk_ signalling her presence. “P-Point being, it won’t happen again, okay?”

Ruby was personally happy to be out of the sun, it seemed particularly harsh today. Like, Groudon drying the world up into a desert type of harsh. The inside of Morty’s dojo on the other hand, well that was another matter. It was cold, and dank and actually kinda creepy. The floors creaked with every step, low litwick light showing the path ahead of Ruby, leading down into the basement. Then, with a loud **_SLAM!_ **the doors shut behind Ruby, making her let out a little yelp, jumping in fright.

 _“Okay, okay, breathe Ruby. It’s just the wind… well, probably. N-Not like someone did that on purpose… or something!”_ she told herself, though the creepy giggle heard on the air seemed to differ. _“And that was just the wind as well!”_

Ruby took another deep breath, gathered up her courage and ventured forth into the darkness. It was just a gym, nothing here was going to hurt her. This was just all part of the test, Morty’s idea of seeing if the trainers who came to challenge him were up to snuff! That they were the bee’s knees! 

_“You sure you’re okay, Ruby?”_ Zwei asked, the dog Pokemon sniffing the air around them. It smelled of aged wood and mold, a thick musty smell that made him wrinkle his nose and sneeze a little. _“After all, Morty has a… well, you know, and I know how you feel about that particular Pokemon. If we have to, we can go to another gym and-”_

“That was years ago Zwei, I’m okay now!” Ruby said, drawing her cloak closer. “We’re running behind as it is, anyways! We’ve only got six more months to the Silver Conference, so we’ve got to pick up the pace! Just going to another gym would take too long. I am _not_ letting Weiss get ahead of me! She’s already making us eat her dust as it is!”

 _“If you say so…”_ Zwei said, not really sounding all that convinced. He sniffed the air again, eyes narrowing and letting out a growl. _“We’re not alone…”_

“Yeah, I figured that…” Ruby said, looking behind her where something was skittering in the darkness. She didn’t catch much of it, all she could tell was that it was green. Oh well, eyes forwards and hopefully Morty wouldn’t be too far ahead!

Then, the whole world seemed to shift, and from a basement room Ruby stepped into a temple’s tea room. She blinked, wait a minute… what? Oh, how she just _loved_ ghost types. And sure enough, at the other end of the room was this ghastly grinning ghoul of a pokemon with a gothic girl at its side. Bags around her eyes, and a crazed grin, she looked as if she hadn’t slept in days.

Oh right, there were other trainers in this gym weren’t there?

“You’re only getting to Morty if you go through us first!” the giggling girl said, laying on the floor looking ready to cast a spell or two.

“Alright then Hexy!” Ruby said, summoning a Pokeball. “Let’s dance!”

A shuppet surged forwards, and then the room creaked and seemed to rob itself of all warmth and light even as Ruby summoned her trevenant. it’s singular cycloptic eye glowed a bright red in the darkness, shining a ruby-red beacon in the gloom. Shuppet tossed a shadow ball, and so did trevenant, the forest guardian letting out a roar of challenge. 

Trevenant’s shadow ball scythed through the shuppet’s own, before trevenant lunged and let its fellow ghost-type with a powerful drain punch. Sapping its energy for his own, he launched off another shadow ball and slammed it into the shuppet. The little hand puppet-like ghost was down for the count. 

Then, the room flared with a fire as Ruby’s opponent sent out a ninetails. The bright gold kitsune’s eyes glowed with an angry inferno, before it sent an explosive fire blast at trevenant. Not given any room to move, the star-shaped attack covered and coated the walking tree. It let out a roar of pain, the fire-type attack hugely effective against it. Then Ruby tossed the tree a rawst berry, and its burns faded away and it was back in the fight.

“Ninetails, shut it down with a Weather Ball!” ‘Hexy’ shouted, pointing at her opponent. “Hey, you know what happens to trees when caught in an inferno right? Well, there’s a reason they call it a _forest fire!_ ”

As the now fire-type move was sent directly at trevenant, it was swallowed up by a shadow ball. The two attacks connected, and ripped wood right from the walls from the sheer force of the explosion. Trevenant took his chance, and under Ruby’s orders, bulldozed right into Ninetails, the kitsune sent flying into another room by the super effective attack. 

‘Hexy’, for her part, looked taken aback by just how quickly the tide had turned against her. The ninetails struggled to get up, but it looked to be a losing battle. He sent one last fire blast at trevenant, but again the walking tree utterly decimated the attack via a shadow ball. And with one brutal swing from its branches, it knocked ninetails down for the count. As the hex maniac retreated into the gloom, the shadows faded and a wall opened up. And Ruby stepped forwards into her next challenge…

\-----

“Come on Rubles! It’ll be fine!” cried a voice. “Just you wait and see!”

This is Yang Xiao Long, Ruby’s headstrong and slightly stupid sister from another mother. Okay, both of them could be pretty impulsive when they wanted to be, but Yang was on another level compared to her younger sister. She lived for the thrill of the adventure, and had dreams of becoming this ace trainer when she grew up. Traveling around the world, and gathering only the rarest and most powerful Pokemon, flying off a cliff and taking to the winds atop her own salamence. That kind of thing. 

Now, her latest ‘great idea’ was to investigate this old house just up the road from where they lived. It’d been abandoned for years, of course. There were the rumors, as there always were, that it’d been owned by a former boss of Team Rocket who kidnapped kids and got rich selling them and rare pokemon on the black market. Other rumors stated it had been owned by some tycoon, and when he died his spirit haunted the place along with the ghost of his beloved Arcanine. Nobody actually knew what was fact, and what was fiction. The truth might have been just rather mundane for all anyone knew. But that didn’t make a good story did it? And the people of Patch loved a good story after all…

“I don’t know Yang…” a smaller fun-sized Ruby Rose said, nervously marching up the steps of the front porch, tugging her coat closer. “I really think we should be getting home… Mom’s going to get worried!”

“Come on Rubes!” Yang said as she pulled Ruby up via the arm. “Where’s your sense of adventure, eh? Relax, we’ll be in and out of here before anyone notices we’re gone!”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you when we get in trouble!” Ruby replied even as they entered. 

Yang pulled out a flashlight, but it soon quickly sputtered out leaving the two young girls alone in the dark. The slightly older blonde grumbled something to herself, obviously something quite rude judging by Ruby’s cry of: “Language!” before sighing.

Yang just went for her Pokeball, and with a small flash of light, her gifted and loyal companion Eins the Yamper appeared. The little electric corgi yipped and pranced about excitedly for a moment, before returning to Yang’s side. Little sparks zapped out of his tail as he danced about in a rather adorable fashion. Nuzzling into Yang’s leg, he forged ahead, waddling about as the wooden floors creaked with every step. Eins showed no fear of a potentially haunted house, whether that was due to bravery or foolishness Yang wasn’t sure. Could have been a mix of both, honestly… 

Whatever it was, the threesome soon quickly set out on the explore. Well, I say threesome when really it was just Yang and Eins with Ruby nervously trailing along behind the both of them. 

For her part, she’d grabbed a candle on a little plate, and hoped and prayed it wasn’t secretly a litwick sucking out her very life energy. The house groaned, almost as if it was… no, don’t think like that, Ruby chided herself. It couldn’t possibly be alive! It just couldn’t be! No, it was just settling, that was all! There was nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of!  
  
...well, maybe there was. This house _was_ supposed to be haunted after all! Were the eyes on those paintings following her? Ruby honestly couldn’t tell, really… And she honestly wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know. 

“Yang, this place makes me nervous…” Ruby admitted. “I feel like we’re being watched!”

“Of course we are, silly!” Yang said. “There’s a few Pokemon calling this place home!”

“Y-Yeah? Are they living or dead?” Ruby asked. Right as she asked this, a squeaking shrieking series of zubats swarmed out of the rafters, and Ruby and Yang both shrieked like little girls as they raised their hands to protect their faces. 

“...well, those were living…” Yang dryly stated as the squeaking swarm flew out a window. She and Ruby shared a look, and in spite of themselves nearly fell over laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole scenario.

“Come on, more to see!” Yang said as she ventured deeper into the old house. “Who knows, maybe we’ll befriend a ghost! Ooooooh, _oooooohhhh!_ Spooky!”

“Yaaaaaaannnnngg, don’t joke about things like that!” Ruby whined as she ran after her sister before running face first into a spinrak’s spider web. Tearing it away from her face, she cried out: “Ewww, eww! _Ewwwwwwwwwww!_ Gross! Oh Arceus, I think I got some in my hair! Yaaannnngg!”

“Here, let me…” Yang said, tearing away the webbing from her sister’s black locks. Wiping away her sister’s tears with a handkerchief, she said: “See, it’s not so bad, is it?”

“I guess…” Ruby mumbled to herself, shuffling her trainer clad feet nervously. Continuing forwards, the twosome ventured up the staircase as it squeaked with every step. Eins followed behind them, yipping without a care in the world and doing so loud enough to wake the dead. Hopefully not literally. 

“Eins, shush!” Yang said in an annoyed tone. “You’re going to…”

“Get everyone in this house after us?” Ruby suggested.

“Well, I was going to say scare everyone away, but that works too…” Yang mused.

“Yeah, something tells me that Eins won’t be the one doing the scaring…” Ruby deadpanned as she watched the little corgi chase his own tail. Clearly, he traded his brains up for maximum cuteness. 

“Come along, Eins…” Yang sighed as she watched her loyal companion tire himself out. She sighed. 

Ruby was soon to follow, thinking to herself: _“Yep, I feel sooooooo safe with him around…”_

Was it too late to back out now? No! She had to prove she was brave! A pokemon trainer in… well, training never backed down from any challenge! They weren’t afraid of anything! 

A cackle split the air. ...well, almost anything.

\-----

The present! And the present happened to be one battered and slightly exhausted Ruby Rose standing in front of Morty, having fought her way through hex-casting girls and wise old sages. 

“Guess you know what I’m here for, right?” Ruby said stepping forwards, feeling a new surging confidence fill her. She was here, she’d made it. She deserved to be here, fighting against the Ghost-Type master. “Now, I’m taking that badge!”

“We’ll see,” Morty said, a mural of the lord of the dead himself, Giratina, behind him. “I hope you realize my gym operates under special rules. Here, we don’t do single Pokemon on Pokemon battles. Here, the danger’s doubled!” he shouted as he let loose both a lampent and a gourgeist.

 ** _“In the darkness of a new-moon night, Gourgeist will come knocking. Whoever answers the door will be swept off to the afterlife._** **_Eerie cries emanate from its body in the dead of night. The sounds are said to be the wails of spirits who are suffering in the afterlife.”_** said the Pokedex on gourgeist before it moved onto lampent. **_“The spirits it absorbs fuel its baleful fire. It hangs around hospitals waiting for people to pass on, and then it steals away their spirits from their bodies.”_**

[ “Scared yet?” Morty asked, ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9sZumHT7A) even as both trevenant and honedge were released to face these creepy customers.

“Oh please, all that’s just superstition and you know it!” Ruby said even as her honedge sliced through the air at gourgeist, while trevenant fired off a shadow ball at the lampent. The air ignited with searing fire as the lampent fired off a will-o-the-wisp at the walking tree. 

Gourgeist dived in, firing off a powerful series of bullet seeds at honedge who sliced them out of the air. Slicing through the gourd-like Pokemon with an aerial ace, it circled back around.

Meanwhile, Ruby’s trevenant was dodging fireballs before it slammed into the lampent with a bulldoze, sending the little ghost flying. Then, from out of the darkness came lampent yet again, charging up a fire blast.

Ruby thought fast. “Trevor, Honedge, switch dance partners on Morty, okay? Honedge, metal sound and then Gyro Ball! Trevy, bulldoze again and then shadow ball!”

Sure enough, honedge was in front of the fire blast, tanking it and looking barely scathed. It let out a loud hum, the metallic sound shrieking through the air and making lampent shudder. Honedge spun like a top, or a ball, and slammed into lampent sending it crashing into a wall.

Trevenant let out a loud roar, and slammed into his fellow ghost type, and before he had a chance to recover, shadow balled him. But the gourgeist wasn’t going to go down easily, and his eyes went white before his opponent was staggering about, stumbling around in seeming confusion.

Ruby bit her nails, letting out a low: “Frak!” to herself. Then, the gourgeist went on the offensive, slamming into trevenant spinning like a ball as Morty shouted orders.

Trevenant staggered back, but it seemed the blow had jarred his senses by a stroke of pure luck and he was back to normal. He, with a brutal swing of his branches knocked his fellow ghost/grass type into the arena floor. 

Honedge was still facing off against lampent, and once again under a bark from Ruby going into a spinning ball of death. But lampent, or rather his trainer knew what to do. “Lampent, don’t be scared! Roast it! Fire Blast, again!”

And it did, Honedge’s spinning form now coated in flame.

“Ready for a little history lesson?” Morty asked. 

“Uh, sure…” Ruby said, not sure where this was going. “I mean, I guess…”

“Here in Ecruteak, Pokémon have long been revered. It's said that a rainbow-hued Pokémon will come down to appear before a truly powerful Trainer. I believed that tale, so I have secretly trained here all my life. As a result, I can now see what others cannot. I see a shadow of the person who will make the Pokémon appear. I believe that person is me! You're going to help me reach that level!”

 _“Don’t listen to him Mistress, he’s trying to psych you out!”_ Honedge shouted to her, as Ruby looked freaked.

“Yeah?” Ruby asked, regaining her composure. “How’d you know it’s you? It could be someone else, like Lance or Leon or maybe even my mom! Heck, it could be me for you know!”

“It may very well be,” Morty agreed. “But that still doesn't mean I’m going to let you win. Me and my Pokemon don’t fall so easily!” 

“Yeah, well same here! I’ve got a rival to beat, and you’re not standing in my way!” Ruby shouted, thoroughly caught up in the thrill of battle. Her Pokemon seemed to have sensed her fever, and their spirits burned with the same glory. Trevenant took down his gourgeist opposition with a bulldoze, and Honedge…? Well, he began to glow, seemingly splitting in two. No, that wasn’t right. He had evolved. Now stood a powerful doublade.

“Well then!” Morty complimented. “Seems your pokemon share the same fire as you!”

Ruby quickly checked her dex. **_“When Honedge evolves, it divides into two swords, which cooperate via telepathy to coordinate attacks and slash their enemies to ribbons. The complex attack patterns of its two swords are unstoppable, even for an opponent greatly accomplished at swordplay.”_ **

Ruby grinned, knowing she could win this now. And she still had her trump card waiting in the wings… 

“Doublade,” she shouted, liking the feel of the word, and seeing it had a new move. “Iron Head, now!”

As doublade rushed forwards, down went lampent. And then the game changed, as lampent and gourgeist were replaced by a single frighteningly familiar Pokemon…

A small purple goblin-like creature stood in front of Ruby and Doublade, wearing a maniacal grin and rubbing its hands together evilly. Ruby’s breath caught in her throat, and she didn’t hear Morty’s command to it, and only just barely saw the Shadow Ball heading in her Pokemon’s direction. But she didn’t see Doublade, no what she saw instead was a little blond-maned girl.

“No, no, it’s happening again…” Ruby sweated in fear and terror, and jumped in front of the dark ball shouting with a terrified cry of: “NO, YANG!”

And then all went black…

\-----

The past, which still focused on Ruby and Yang inside the supposedly haunted mansion. 

“Okay, I’ll come out and say it,” Yang groaned leaning up against a wall. “I’m bored. Like, come on, where are the grim grinning ghosties? This place is supposed to be haunted right?”

“Haven’t you heard of tempting fate?” Ruby asked, pressing her fingers together worriedly. “L-Like, should you really be asking that?”

“I say, bring ‘em on!” Yang shouted to the gloom. “I ain’t afraid of no ghost!”

Then, low giggles filled the air and a breathy moan followed that, saying: “Are you sure about that…?”

Ruby let out a little squeak and Yang’s eyes widened as she shouted: “Who was that? Come on out and show yourself!”

Then, a nearby washer began shaking and rattling, a pipe squirting water as the appliance slowly began to move towards the twosome. 

Eins growled, and zapped the monstrous machine with an electrical discharge. Then, what looked to be an electron flew out of it and into another appliance, a nearby refrigerator. That piece of hardware began to move towards the threesome, its doors open wide as the air became horrifically cold.

Cackles filled the air as balls of shadow appeared out of the now oozing walls, gifted with eyes and fangs. Ghastly sights, to be sure! Yang grabbed her sister by the arm, and ran like hell with Eins scampering after them in fear barking in terror. 

“RUN, RUBY!” shouted Yang, her golden locks a frazzled mess from her fear. Ruby was in no place to argue, the possessed refrigerator in hot pursuit with it’s ghastly ghoulish entourage in tow. Now was not the time to be frozen in fear.

“I told you we shouldn’t have come here!” Ruby screamed in fear, Eins letting out additional discharges to keep the ghouls off their back. 

“Y-Yeah, I’m starting to agree!” Yang put in.

“Now do you doubt us?” the same voice from before echoed throughout the house. “Now do you doubt our power? Now do you laugh at us? Now do you challenge us?”

“N-NO!” Yang shouted as the refrigerator silenced itself, even as both girls were blocked by a wall of wind coming from a possessed fan. “No, I don’t! No, w-we don’t!”

“Why are you doing this?” Ruby said, grabbing a chair and swiping at the fantastic fan with it. “We’re just little girls! Please, leave us alone!”

“But we _want_ you here!” said the voice, as the chair began oozing, and a horrific face appeared on it. Ruby shrieked and dropped the now flaming chair as it reformed into a gengar. “It’s been so long since we’ve had proper guests!”

“Yes, w-well, maybe we don’t want to be here…” Ruby said, her sister stepping in front of her. Yang glared with the ferocity of a young dragon at the ghost-type, daring it to come forwards. 

“Oh, but you _must_ stay for dinner…” The gengar begged to differ. “Really, it would be rude otherwise!”

“I-I think we’ll have to decline!” Yang stammered out. “B-Besides, we’ve got other plans already!”

“Oh, but we insist!” the gengar cackled as it rubbed its hands together evilly. From out of the shadows appeared twin haunters with similar expressions. One lunged for Ruby, only to be zapped away by Eins. 

_“Hands off my master!”_ he barked.

“Oh, how loyal…” the lead gengar said, kicking away Eins into the darkness with a yelp. “But how foolish!”

He lunged at Yang, charging up a shadow ball and Ruby only grabbed Yang at the last minute to pull her out of the way. They ran as fast as they could, but the frightening figure seemed to follow their every step, giggling all the way. 

“I’m sorry… sis, I got you into this mess and now...” Yang said, huddling her little sibling close. Then, with a loud roar and a blast of flame, the wall exploded. 

“WHAT!?!” the gengar shouted as his companions scattered to the shadows. Good thing too, given there was now an angry looking Summer Rose along with her pyroar, mane alight with flame.

“Pyroar, deal with them,” Summer said in a cold tone, frosty like the winter’s chill. She may have been a kind woman most of the time, but anger her and she would show you just _why_ she was a champion of Galar at one point. “Scare off the stragglers with Hyper Voice, then take out their leader with Crunch.”

Pyroar… well, roared and she did it well with the fury of a raging inferno and any remaining gastlies scattered. Then, she pounced atop Gengar, biting into his body with jackknife-sharp teeth. Tossing him away, her fangs blazed with fire. 

“Wait, wait, maybe we can cut a deal!” the gengar begged, holding up his hands in surrender. “Mercy, please!”

Summer looked incensed, perhaps only exceeded by her pyroar. She said calmly and quietly: “Pyroar, dispose of this trash with Overheat.”

Pyroar actually _glowed_ with power, and then launched a tsunami of flame from her mouth utterly enveloping the gengar. When the flames faded, he was gone. He’d either fainted dead away, or his spirit had finally been laid to rest. Summer didn’t care which, honestly. Bringing her girls in for a hug, she recalled Pyroar and held her now-sobbing daughters close.

“I’m sorry, mommy…” Yang said as her whole body shook with small sobs.

“It’s okay… I’m right here girls…” Summer said holding them tighter as if they’d disappear on her at any moment. The Rangers would later be contacted, the house cleansed. Ruby and Yang wouldn’t be punished much. However, they would still carry the scars. Ruby in particular, with dreadful nightmares and an undying fear of gengar...

\-----

Ruby groaned as she woke, hearing the slow _beep, beep, beep_ of a heart monitor. Ruby looked upwards, an unfamiliar ceiling. Greeeeaaattt. How did she… oh, right. Arceus above! 

“You alright?” a concerned voice asked. “You were out for a while, the whole night in fact. Man, I haven’t seen a trainer do something like that in… Actually, that’s the first time I’ve seen that at all. Who’s Yang?”

“My… my sister…” Ruby mumbled. 

“I’m guessing you have a history with gengar, right?” Morty asked kindly.

“I guess you could say that, yeah…” Ruby shuddered. “I was eleven years old, just a few years shy of getting my licence since they moved up the age limit y’know? Me and my sister, well we got the idea to explore this old supposedly haunted house on the edge of town right? Well, so much for it being ‘supposedly’ being haunted eh?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Morty sighed. “Not the brightest move really…”

“Well, we _were_ kids…” Ruby pointed out. “Not sure kids are known for their smart decisions. Anyways, so yeah! We got what we wished for really, to see some ghosts. Careful what you wish for really… There was this leader, least I think he was their leader. A… a… well, I think you know.”

“A gengar?” Morty guessed. “Yeah, that fits. They’re known to be gang leaders, if you will. Asserting their authority over weaker ghost-types. They’re hard to root out once they take hold of a residence.”

“You’re not helping…” Ruby mumbled. 

“Sorry,” Morty apologized. “I assume they’re still there? The gaggle of ghost-types I mean?”

“Not sure, I think Mommy called the Pokemon Rangers after she and pyroar rescued us. Not like me and Yang were ever inclined to actually go _check_ , you understand!” Ruby laughed bitterly.

“Not all ghost types are like that, as I’m sure you know. Saw you with a trevenant, Trevy was it? And a hone… well, a doublade now I guess!” Morty laughed. “Seems you’re not totally afraid of them.”

“Yes, well they’re less scary than… say, a grinning goblin ghost,” Ruby admitted. “Trevenant’s a type of guardian spirit, same thing with doublade. Unless you’re evil, you don’t have anything to be afraid of! But… but most ghosts? They’re chaotic, you can’t predict what they’ll do!” 

Here, she fought back a sob. Oh, if Weiss could see her now… She’d never hear the end of it! Her, the daughter of the former Champion of Galar, reduced to a little girl afraid of ghosts!

Sensing his trainer’s distress, Zwei nuzzled her hand. _“I’m sure she’s not that cruel…”_ he said to her. Ruby begged to differ, Weiss was nothing but mean to anyone and everyone! Especially her. _Especially_ her. She seemed to get off on just being a little brat and treating everyone like they were dirt under her shoe…

“You’ve just had bad experiences,” Morty replied. “You must have been so afraid working your way through my gym, fighting all those trainers… Don’t take that as an insult, take it as a compliment instead,” he continued noticing Ruby’s flinch.

“H-How so?” Ruby’s voice wavered, and so Morty was all too happy to explain what he meant.  
  
“If anything, I think that speaks to your strength! I don't think our potentials are so different, actually. But you seem to have something more than that. A sheer raw determination.”

“Yeah, fat lot of good that does me when I nearly get myself killed seeing your gengar,” Ruby grumbled to herself, with another bitter laugh. “How in the Reverse World’s name am I supposed to beat your gym if I can’t not do anything but outright panic when I see your signature? Arceus, I’m such a wreck!”

“Well, we’ll just have to cure you of your fear!” Morty said, snapping his fingers as he got an idea. Eusine would probably call him crazy, but it was his job to help trainers in any way he could. Guide them to their destinies. And he sensed Ruby had a great one… Maybe she would be the one to finally dethrone Lance. But first, she had to make it past his city, and there was no way she wasn’t going to do that without learning that his gengar wasn’t scary at all!

Then, in walked Gengar and at first Ruby froze up but it was hard to be afraid of the ghost type when he looked _exactly_ like a clown. Face paint, and all! He began to juggle, exclaiming: _“Behold, the fabulous Gengar the Great and his amazing skills!”_

He, one by one tossed the balls up in the air, catching them and repeating this for a minute or so before destroying each with a shadow ball. _“But wait, there’s more! I’m not just a clown, but a comedian! What kind of street do ghosts prefer to live on? Dead-end drive!”_

Ruby, in spite of herself, began to laugh with each horrible pun the gengar told. 

_“What is a ghost’s favorite carnival ride? The roller-ghoster! What is in a ghost’s nose? Boo-gers!”_ Gengar the Great continued 

“Stop it! Your puns are worse than my sisters!” Ruby laughed, tears streaming down her face. Zwei watched with a smile, yes this is exactly what she needed!

 _“Hey, not going to stop until you admit my puns are awesome. You look very boo-tiful, you shouldn’t be sad!”_ the Gengar chimed. _“Heard you had a bad experience with one of my kind, that blows. Makes us all look bad when one Gengar goes and does shit like that. I’m, from the bottom of my undead heart, truly sorry.”_

“I… I accept…” Ruby said through her tears. 

_“Don’t think this means I’ll go easy on you on the battlefield though!”_ Gengar said with a little smile, and Ruby couldn’t help but smile back.

“I… I wouldn’t want you too…”

[So at 9:00 sharp tomorrow,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftd5d8_8Bgg) Ruby returned to the gym, ready to pick up where she left off...

“Okay, this time, no setbacks!” Ruby shouted, pointing directly at Morty. “I’m here to take that badge! Or my name isn’t Ruby Rose!”

“Get ready to change your name then! Hope you’re ready!” Morty shouted, tossing his Pokeball and Ruby knew what was coming even as Houndoom took the field. Morty nodded in approval, even as Gengar appeared. This time, Ruby felt no fear. In fact, she felt like she couldn’t lose!

“Haha, meet my trump card! Kerberos, kick his butt! Flamethrower, now!” Ruby called even as the houndoom’s throat glowed a bright orange, before the air ignited in a furious burst of orange flame. 

Gengar dodged the strong-fire type move, before lobbing a Shadow Ball in his opponent’s direction. Houndoom staggered, it was clear Gengar had received enough training to get past the type weakness. 

“Gengar, again! Don’t let that houndoom get a chance to find his footing! Keep lobbing Shadow Balls at him!”

And oh boy did Gengar obey this command, lobbing the things like grenades. Houndoom was constantly on his toes, outrunning the thrown balls of dark energy like mad. Eventually, he resorted to running along the walls of Morty’s Gym, before launching himself off them. Ruby saw her chance, and she took it. 

“So, you think your gengar is the ghostest with the mostest?” Ruby asked. “We’ll see about that, Kerberos use Beat Up!”

 _“At once, milady!”_ the houndoom replied before charging up his paws with dark energy. He looked Morty’s Gengar directly in the eye. _“Fair warning, this shall hurt!”_

 _“Ah, bring it on! I’m used to taking a beating!”_ Gengar taunted, before Kerberos drew back his paw and socked him right in the face before delivering a powerful uppercut that sent him flying to the other end of the arena. Ruby danced around happily, before blowing a raspberry at Morty.

“Gengar, Sucker Punch!” Morty shouted, and even as Kerberos charged up a flamethrower, he was floored. 

“Actually, I _do_ think my gengar is the ghostest with the mostest,” Morty remarked, crossing his arms. “In fact, I know it!”

“Shadow Ball again!”/”Flamethrower, now!” both trainers called, their pokemon launching their respective attacks. The two powerful moves rushed towards each other, before there was an explosion that ripped up dust and dirt and coated the arena in smoke. 

Ruby’s cloak flapped in the wind kicked up by the explosion, Morty coughing into his sleeve. Then, the smoke cleared away, and both Kerberos and Gengar leaped out of the smoke, before rebounding off the gym walls. They then went in for another attack, Kerberos with Beat Up and Gengar with Sucker Punch. As before, Gengar’s attack came first, landing a powerful punch to the gut. Kerberos crashed to the arena floor, before he leaped skywards, pouncing atop Gengar and bringing him crashing down.

“We've got more discipline than anyone else!” Morty said. “Gengar, time to break out your signature move! Hypnotize him!”

 _“Hehe, watch the birdie!”_ Gengar said, bringing out a metronome, and Kerberos’ eyes were drawn to the strange machine in spite of himself. _“And sleepy-bye time for you!”_

“No, Kerberos! Don’t look! Tear your eyes away from it!” Ruby called, before biting her nails nervously. But it was all for naught, with Kerberos fast asleep and snoring loudly.

“Come on… come on, wake up boy…” Ruby whispered. 

“And now to finish it…” Morty started.

“NO!” Ruby called.

“Dream Eater,” Morty said calmly, and Gengar released a shadowy version of itself that began to steal away energy from his opponent. Ruby, all the while begged and pleaded for Kerberos to get up. 

“Kerberos, please!” Ruby whined.

“I’m sorry Ruby, but it’s futile to resist. Once Gengar’s dream eater takes hold, it’s impossible to win, even now he’s stealing away your Pokemon’s energy and replenishing his own,” Morty said, his hands behind his back. 

“Well, Kerberos will wake up eventually, and then we _will_ beat you!” Ruby said.

“I wish I could believe you, but he’s weak as it is,” Morty continued, harsh sunlight filtering in through the windows and making him into some sort of fallen angel. “Best you switch out for another Pokemon.”

“No, I won’t give up so easily and neither will Kerberos, now WAKE UP!” Ruby shouted, and just like that, Kerberos’ eyes shot open. Morty took a step back in shock, even as Kerberos began to glow with power synchronizing with his mega stone.

Morty quickly realized what was happening, and ordered: “Gengar, Mega-Evolve now!”

Gengar’s form shifted, becoming this three-armed demon and he fired off a mega-powerful Shadow Ball. But Ruby snapped her fingers, and ordered: “Dodge it, and fire your flamethrower up into the roof! It’s a nice day after all and we really mustn’t waste it!”

Too late Morty realized what was happening, even as Kerberos’ form flickered before he was gifted with a burst of super speed. He’d leaped skywards, spinning so that his belly faced the rafters and the dark-type fired a blast of flame ripping the gym a new skylight.

Kerberos landed _behind_ his foe, feeling the hot sun beating down on his form and feeling supercharged with power.

 _“I share my mistress’ feelings. I feel as if I can’t lose, and for the honor of my pack I will defeat you!”_ Kerberos proclaimed, physically glowing with power as he charged forwards leaving fire in his wake. His paws began to glow with power.

“Now Kerberos, one last time. Beat Up!” Ruby roared, and several powerful punches shattered through Mega Gengar’s defenses flooring the ghost-type. And just like that, the battle was over. Morty nodded, before recalling his pokemon.

“Well, you did it. Quite impressive really,” Morty said, clapping his hands. He reached into his pocket, pulling out what could only be the Fog Badge. Pinning it to Ruby’s cloak, he smiled with pride even as Ruby hugged her houndoom happily. “My advice? You should be strong enough to go across the sea. When you go west and then south, you'll reach Olivine City. Why don't you head for it?”

“Oh, I like the sound of that!” Ruby punched the air. “Watch out Weiss, I’m coming for you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was something eh? I hoped I captured the heart-pounding power of facing off against Morty and his grim grinning ghosts. Oh, I'm still doing it! And before anyone gets on my case about Hypnosis not being able to affect Kerberos due to the typing, I intentionally fudged it for drama. Plus, Gengar is a few levels above his opponent so there's a power gap.
> 
> Just a question, you think Ruby should eventually go back and find that Gengar that tormented her, capture it? Just to show she's not afraid of it anymore? Or leave it alone?


	7. 7: Come Sail Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this is basically filler. Feel free to gasp in horror. But... except it's not. This will further Ruby's character along, and any other 'filler' chapters I do will do much the same thing.

Ruby, as she walked out of the gym, no _swaggered_ out of the old dojo was on an emotional high. 

“I… I can’t believe it!” she stammered out, still holding up the badge in the morning sun just to make sure it was actually _real._ “Like, I beat Morty! Against all odds!”

 _“And you overcame your fear of his gengar, and… well, the species in general, actually. So there’s that as well,_ ” Kerberos said approvingly, stretching to soak up as many of the sun’s rays as possible. _“So, I can only assume after this, it’s off across the sea? It’s a bit of a walk to Olivine City, but I think we can manage it given a day or two.”_

“Long as we don’t procrastinate, yes,” Ruby said, her hands behind her head and her houndoom had to suppress a snort. “...what? What’s so funny?”

 _“Well, no offense mistress, but I have heard from the rest of your team that…”_ Kerberos started even as Ruby let out a sigh, comically hanging her head in despair complete with a little rain cloud. 

“Of course you did…” she mumbled. “Tell me, was it Sawsbuck? I know he likes to gossip, I know it was him!”

 _“Zwei actually.”_ Kerberos corrected, and at this Ruby sank to the ground.

“Why have you betrayed me, Zwei? Whhhhhhhyyyyyy?” Ruby asked, still in ‘despair’ mode as she clutched the herdier’s pokeball tightly. Passersby watched the young girl, giving her a wide berth as they looked at her oddly. Truly, this was the daughter of Summer Rose and future champion in the making… right?

 _“If we were to get back on topic…”_ Kerberos coughed, clearing his throat. _“So am I right to assume that we’re to head for Olivine, no stopping and then charter a boat to get us through the Whirl Islands?”_

“Well, yes, but actually no,” Ruby babbled. “See see? Before you get on my case about air quote ‘procrastination’ end air quotes there’s something I gotta do. Call my sister, and totally brag about how I’m farther ahead of her in her journey and such! It’s what you do, right? Am I right?”

 _“I mean… she’s got a point…”_ Kerberos said to himself, before twisting his head, his ears perking up as something rustled in the bushes and the undergrowth. He let out a low, barely audible growl. That was the second time in three days both he and Zwei had heard or saw something. 

Ruby meanwhile, in her own excited way, had managed to find her way to the nearest videophone. Rapidly dialing in a number, she mumbled something about ‘the bill being horrible’ before on-screen, appeared a lioness of a girl with a stunningly blond mane. Yes, Yang Xiao Long had blossomed into a magnificent sun dragon of a woman. 

_“Sis!”_ Yang called dressed in a form-fitting sports swimsuit, behind her a surfboard implanted in the ground. To go with it, was a magnificently stunning beach and bright shining seas of blue. Barking up a storm somewhere behind her, chasing down a flareon was Eins, now a full-grown bolthund. His puppy fat had faded away, giving way to magnificent muscle. _“God, you must have grown a foot or two since we last talked. How’s your journey going, please tell me you’ve got something to show me! New Pokemon, new badge, new something!”_

“Check it!” Ruby said, proudly showing off her new fog badge as it gleamed in the sun. 

_“Oooooh, congrats sis! You’re in Ecruteak, right? Oh, I heard Blake was in town right? Setting up a new branch of Belladonna Books?”_ Yang said, seemingly unaware of her many onlookers. 

“Yeah, she’s here. I honestly was surprised to see her, like Arceus it’s been so many years…” Ruby said.

 _“Oh, I’ll bet!”_ Yang said with a small laugh. _“So tell me, she cute enough for you? I mean, given a few years and let’s face it, Blake? She’s probably gotten f.i.n.e~!”_

“Yaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnggggg…” Ruby whined fiddling with a strand of her hair. “It’s not like that!” 

_“Fine, if you say so…”_ Yang shrugged. _“Just sayin’, if you don’t snatch her up first I’m pretty sure someone else will! Oh, you’re going to Cianwood next right? That means you gotta go through the Whirl Islands.”_

“Yeah, so? I knew that. Wait…” Ruby trailed off. “Is this about the storms, because that’s always been a risk. I can take care of myself, no matter what the weather!”

 _“Nah, it’s not about that. I know you can, sis!”_ Yang commented. _“Just wanted to tip you off, there’s this thing called the Whirl Islands Cup, and I hear rumors that they’re giving away some sort of rare Pokemon to the winner. I’d suggest you give it a look! Who knows, you might land yourself one hell of a future powerhouse!”_

“Language!” Ruby called on reflex, even as she took the information in and filed it away for later. 

_“Oh come on sis, I’m all the way on the other side of the world! You’re not really going to hold that against me right now are you?”_ Yang asked. Ruby glared at her, and Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms. _“Fine fine, I’ll put some money in your account. This is extortion, you know that right?”_

“Hey, it’s how I was raised, so sue me!” Ruby replied.

 _“Considering it… Oh, what’s this I heard about you getting a rival?”_ Yang asked.

“You know about that?” Ruby asked eyes widened in surprise.

_“People talk, videos get posted to PokeTube. Chillax, don’t you worry about Weiss Queen, so what if she’s got some powerful pokemon?”_

Yang didn’t know the half of it, not that Ruby was going to correct her.

 _“She was probably just handed them down from her daddy. Now you, well you’ve got plenty of room to grow and show her up! You’ve got actual training compared to Weiss, I say you use it next time you meet her and kick her…”_ Yang quickly stopped herself at Ruby’s expression. The waves were picking up behind her, not that Yang seemed to notice just yet. _“You know what I mean. Oh, surf’s up! Gotta go! See you in Cianwood!”_

With that, the call shut off.

 _“She seems… exuberant,”_ Kerberos commented with a small tilt of his head. 

“Yes, well, that’s Yang for you… Wait, do you hear that? ” Ruby trailed off as she heard the bushes behind her rustle. Going for her Pokeball, she shouted: “Alright, come on out of there or I get Sawsbuck to unleash a Take Down on you!”

Kerberos, for his part, snorted flames. _“I knew we were being followed!”_

It was doubtful either move would have been effective really. Because from out of the bushes strode a particularly dopey looking Appletun. The grass dragon tilted his tiny head upwards to look at Ruby, something familiar about him striking her.

Sawsbuck chose that moment to pop out of his ball, the Season Pokémon’s eyes widening in recognition. He trotted over to the little Apple Nectar Pokémon and knelt down to look him in the eye. 

“Hey, wait… weren’t you from that group in the forest?” Ruby asked as she placed a finger to her chin in thought. “Like, the one that gave me and Sawsbuck shelter for the night?” 

_“The very same, I’ve been following you for a few days now. You… you see, I want to become your Pokemon!”_ the tiny dragon exclaimed, catching Ruby and her party by surprise as they took a few steps back in understandable shock. 

_“You?”_ Kerberos asked in an arrogant tone, blinking. _“But you’re so…”_

Sawsbuck glared at him, daring him to finish that sentence. Kerberos quickly relented, remembering the beatdown that the Season Pokémon handed him and his pack. 

_“...incredibly brave!”_ Kerberos corrected himself, and yet still managed to sound condescending thanks to his next remark. _“It’s a dangerous world out there, you sure you’re ready to handle it?”_

 _“I_ **_want_ ** _to handle it. After Sawsbuck handed you and your pack a dose of humility, I got inspired. See, I can’t just cower in my den and in the bushes just waiting for someone strong to come along and solve all my problems for me! I_ **_have_ ** _to get stronger myself! So please, take me as your Pokemon! I promise you won’t regret it!”_ Appletun pleaded.

 _“He makes a good argument,”_ Sawsbuck agreed, and Kerberos was forced to agree. 

_“Tiny as he is, he’s got spirit, and really Mistress Ruby you’d be passing up a chance here if you turned him down!”_ Kerberos conceded.

 _“I’m sorry, wait, did you just give a compliment?”_ Sawsbuck asked, raising an eyebrow. _“I didn’t think you could give those!”_

 _“Oh hush, you sound just like my Mistress!”_ Kerberos replied with an annoyed huff as both Ruby and her new friend watched the exchange like it was a tennis match. 

_“I thought that was supposed to be a good thing, like trainer like Pokemon!”_ Sawsbuck returned.

“...they’re not going to do this all the way to Cianwood are they…?” Ruby had to ask herself. 

_“And for the record, I can give compliments, they just have to be well-earned!”_ Kerberos replied, his muzzle inches away from Sawsbuck’s own.

 _“And here I thought you just barked loudly, and hoped others would listen…”_ Sawsbuck sneered.

 _“Why you…”_ Kerberos growled.

“GUYS!” Ruby shouted, stepping in between them. “It’s a long walk to Olivine and an even longer ride to Cianwood, can we save this for later? It’s almost lunchtime and I’m getting hungry anyways, don’t make me give someone else your food because you’re too busy arguing!” 

_“Yes ma’am…”_ both Sawsbuck and Kerberos said, both hanging their heads in shame, before giving the other a reproachful look. 

_“Is it always like this?”_ Appletun dared to ask, wondering what he was getting himself into.

“Mhmm, more or less,” Ruby admitted her face flushing red and letting out a nervous little laugh. She clapped her hands together before saying: “Now let’s eat! One question, is eating apple pies around you technically offensive, or is it just straight-up cannibalism?” 

\-----

“Ooooooogh,” Ruby moaned, feeling rather sick as the waves rocked beneath her feet. The mainland was already starting to vanish in the distance, becoming a simple small green and gray speck with each passing moment as the boat traveled away from it. Above Ruby, wingulls migrated to their autumn homes on the Whirl Islands to lay their eggs and nest for the winter months. 

It’d been only a few short days since appletun joined the team, and the group had passed through Olivine and chartered a boat to the nearest island without much incident. A few trainer battles here, and some run ins with wild pokemon there. Nothing really noteworthy. 

However, what nobody had told Ruby was that she really did not like boats. Like, she’d just found out for herself just how much she hated them. It was official, she was a born landlubber. Not for the first time, Ruby found herself wondering if she could have taken the long way around or hired a blimp or something. But apparently, no _this_ was the fastest way to get to Cianwood. Via the sea, on a boat helmed by a slightly madcap captain through some of the worst weather imaginable.

Feeling a bit green around the gills, Ruby looked towards the front of the boat where Kerberos kept a watchdog’s eye out for gyarados and the like. The captain, an older gent named Mr. Briney seemed quite at home here even as waves crashed up against the boat and gales slashed through the air.

“Aye, it’s been too long since I made a trip to the Whirl Islands, and since then this old sea dog's been feeling frisky! I was thinking about retiring, but when I saw the waters again? Let me just say, it stirred my sleeping soul as a sailor!” Mr. Briney exclaimed. “Aaarrgh!”

“G-Glad you like it…” Ruby muttered, still looking rather green. With a retching sound, she hurled her head over the side and down her lunch went to Davy Jones’ locker.

“Oh, have you still not gotten your feet wet Miss Rose?” Mr. Briney called over the roar of the storm. “Don’t you worry none, lass! We’ll be making landfall in only a few hours!”

“Only a few hours?” Ruby moaned.

“Weather permitting, of course!” Mr. Briney clarified -a wingull perched atop his shoulder- before seeing the look on her face. “Aww, don’t you worry Miss Rose, me and Peeko have made it through every type of weather imaginable with this here ship! Not even the great Lugia himself would be able to throw us off course!”

“Glad you’re feeling so confide… ULP!” Ruby said before once again tossing her cookies. “Just don’t start calling this boat unsinkable, and we should be good!”

Sawsbuck went sliding by on the wet deck, nearly tumbling overboard had Kerberos not leaped from his Pokeball and grabbed the deer-like Pokemon by the tail. He began tugging him back, the Dark-type putting all his strength into it. 

_“Oh no, you don’t!”_ Kerberos shouted. _“I’m not letting my rival drown!”_

 _“Oh, so I’m your rival now am I?”_ Sawsbuck asked with a little grin.

 _“Just be quiet before I kick your grass…”_ Kerberos grumbled.

 _“I see someone’s been learning from Yang Xiao Long!”_ Sawsbuck returned.

 _“Oh, hush you!”_ Kerberos replied.

Lightning flashed in the sky above in jagged streaks making Ruby nearly jump.

“By Arceus! She’s a-blowin' fiercely, this storm!” Mr. Briney called over the gale. “Why, if I didn’t know better, I’d say Lugia was behind this weather!”

“40 days and 40 nights, right?” Ruby said, stumbling over to him. “Wow, that’d be something! A terrifying something, but still a something!”

“Oh lassie, you haven’t heard nothin’ yet!” Mr. Briney said. “Lugia’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to old sea legends! Why, there’s Kyogre, and not the watered down theme park version most professors back in Hoenn tell you about. You see, years ago, long before any one of us were born she was a much more primal creature let me tell you! My family told me tales of legends, of a far more powerful version of the beast! One who could take out the lands and turn the whole world into a single immortal primordial sea!”

“Gee, thanks for the nightmares!” Ruby said with a little shudder.

“Aww, don’t you worry. Kyogre has evolved, as far as we know she doesn't possess that type of ability anymore. At least… not naturally. There are rumors of course, on how to revert her to her original primordial state but… well, those are just rumors aren’t they!” Mr. Briney laughed nervously.

“Greeeeeaaat, I feel so much better now!” Ruby stated in a complete deadpan. She’d heard of both Team Aqua and Team Magma, about how they wanted to rule the lands and conquer the seas. Knowing that out there existed Pokemon with the power to do that, well it was _really_ comforting. Like, really truly so! 

“You worried about those mad teams lassie?” Mr. Briney asked as he swerved the boat to keep it from hitting a wailord which quickly dived back beneath the waves. Ruby nodded nervously, confirming Mr. Briney’s suspicions, before he continued with a: “Awww, don’t you ever! See, people like that? There are people just as equally dedicated to stopping them, so evil will never get a foothold in this world. Don’t invite trouble none, as my dear old grandfather used to say, Arceus bless his soul.”

“B-Besides, even if one of them or even both were to appear, legends say the mighty Rayquaza will descend from the heavens and restore the balance! Isn’t that right?” Ruby asked.

“You know your legends!” Mr. Briney appraised.

“Yes, well… my mom? She likes to study them, it’s a habit of hers I guess you’d say,” Ruby said slowly beginning to get her sea legs. She didn’t want to throw up anymore, at any rate. “Guess when you’re champion and not training any to battle challengers, you get bored and you need a… Oh, frak! I shouldn’t have said that!” 

Ruby was facepalming, whispering: “Stupid, stupid!” over and over to herself. 

“It’s okay, I figured out who you were the moment you stepped on the boat,” Mr. Briney reassured and Ruby looked up at the older gent with a shocked expression. “I used to help your mother back in the day. She needed transport around Galar once or twice, and she came to yours truly!”

“Really?” Ruby asked. “You knew my mom?”

“Not well, mind, but yeah I did. Even I can tell you’ve got the same spark in your eyes like she did. Oh, did you know, she helped me find my Peeko?” Mr. Briney said as he looked up at his faithful companion. “Yep, she did! One day we were out on the seas, and she spotted Peeko crashed on a beach. I nursed her back to health, defying even your mother’s expectations! She thought she’d never fly again you’d see! But she supported me every step of the way, that’s just the kind of person your mother is!”

“I… I see, it’s just…” Ruby mumbled looking down at her feet.

“What is it, lass?” Mr. Briney asked.

“Well, everyone keeps talking about my mom like she’s some type of legend and I know she is but I have to live up to her example you know? I’m her daughter, it’s expected! Heck, I even look like her right down to the cloak!” Ruby exclaimed. “It’s scary, y’know! Like, what if I mess up or something? I’ve got a rival, and every time we meet she kicks my butt! She’s even got a Latias! I’ve just got only a couple of Pokemon, and none of them have managed to make a dent in her team thus far and… My mom, back in her day, she’d probably kick Weiss’ butt and send her scampering all the way back to Sinnoh!”

“Ah, so that’s your problem. You want to be _exactly_ like your mom, is that right?” Mr. Briney asked. “Well, tough shit, and don’t bother correcting me on my language. Your mom was the same way. I can speak how I want! Anyways, you don’t have to be an exact copy of your mom. Change your hair, that might help people realize you’re not your mother’s clone.”

“I… I guess so…” Ruby said. “But it’s so hard, like as soon as I was born everyone was expecting me to be as great as my mom, perhaps even greater! That’s half of the reason I got into Pokemon training!”

“Well then? Fuck ‘em. Do this how you want to do it,” Briney continued. “You’re not meant to be your mom but 2.0. You are your own trainer, Ruby Rose. So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I’ll… I’ll figure something out, I suppose…” Ruby said before the boat lurched and she was thrown off her feet. “What was that?”

Then, a shrieking roar answered her question as this truly massive blue serpent rose out of the pounding waves.

“GYARADOS!” Mr. Briney shouted. “Aaaaaarrrgh, the devil the luck of it all! Man your battlestations!”

“But I’m a woman…” Ruby grumbled before deciding not to argue the point as she summoned Porygon2, the little digital duck curling up into a ball and seemingly turning to steel. Gyarados lunged, fangs bared and covered in freezing ice.

Kerberos ran up, and despite the general futility of the attack, blasted the massive sea serpent with a flamethrower. Gyarados reeled and it roared in pain, lunging at him with an Ice Fang charged and ready. Porygon2 slammed into the Atrocious Pokémon, but was knocked away by its tail.

Kerberos, for his part, leaped atop the Atrocious Pokémon and began wailing on it with Beat Up and even as the giant snake tried to throw him off, he bit down. It shrieked in pain, thrashing like a Pokemon possessed before Ruby ordered: “Porygon2, Tri Attack!”

Porygon2’s eyes glowed, before it launched a triple beam selection of laser fire and Gyarados roared out in pain. Kerberos leaped off the massive sea snake, before Ruby called out: “Kerberos, Shadow Ball, and Porygon2, Thunder Wave! We’ll reel him in!”

The combined attacks sent the Atrocious Pokémon reeling, roaring to the heavens in excruciating pain. But it was down, not out of the fight. It dove beneath the waves with a mighty **_KA-CRASH!_ **as poor Ruby was thrown off her feet once more by the force of the shockwave. She landed in Mr. Briney’s arms, the sailor searching the horizon for any sign of the beast.

“Come on, where’d she go?” Mr. Briney whispered to himself. He finally gave up, shouting: “Aaaarrrggh! We’ve got to get out of here, there’s an island near by. We’ve got to make for it, any port in a storm will do! In this case, quite literally!”

As the boat flew for cover, its pursuer finally emerged from the churning waters below with another Ice Fang attack at the ready. 

Kerberos stopped it from doing so with a Shadow Ball, but was knocked out with a blast of scalding hot water from Gyarados. Ruby shoved a rawst berry into his mouth to help curn the burns he’d suffered, before recalling him to his Pokeball. 

_“Ruby!”_ Sawsbuck shouted as Gyarados lunged again with Ice Fang.

“Oh, doesn’t she ever give up?” Ruby asked as Sawsbuck slammed into the angry serpent with a Take Down. “What’d we even do to make her so mad anyways?”

 _“Woke her up from a nap?”_ Sawsbuck suggested, half-jokingly. _“By Arceus, her endurance is insane! Not even Porygon2’s Thunder Wave downed her!”_

“It’s the weather!” Mr. Briney shouted. “Gyarados generally get very agitated in bad weather, so the old stories say!”

“I’m agitated!” Ruby shouted over the pokemon’s ear-splitting roar. “Seriously, what is it with trainers and running into angry Gyarados?”

 _“I know! It’s almost like they hate humans!”_ Sawsbuck agreed, slamming into the ‘agitated’ Atrocious Pokémon with another Take Down attack. _“Alright, I’ve had about enough of you! Go back to sleep, you bitch!”_

Apparently, calling a pokemon a ‘bitch’ did nothing for their temperament. Gyarados shrieked, and then lunged before Mr. Briney called out: “Peeko, get her! Air Slash!”

Ribbons of wind sliced through the air, and through Gyarados for that matter. 

Sawsbuck went on the offensive, drawing from his youth as a simple deerling and riddling it with Bullet Seed. 

“Now Peeko, Supersonic!” Briney commanded, and the wingull let out a shriek that forced Ruby to cover her ears and Gyarados thrashed about in confusion. “Alright, it’s confused, she doesn’t know which way is up now! Hopefully, in all that thrashing she’ll hurt herself and then you can knock her out Miss Rose!”

The ‘and capture her’ part went unsaid.

Sawsbuck’s horns began to glow orange before they changed to a sharp gold as it sapped energy away from it’s opponent with a Horn Leech. Energy began to come back to him, and strength filled his form. He raised his hind legs, and bucked the giant serpent with a Double Kick.

Gyarados roared again, much to Ruby’s great consternation. “Does she ever shut up?”

 _“Ask her that!”_ Sawbuck shouted. _“Before we all go deaf!”_

Again, he readied another Take Down but Gyarados had enough of this. She raised her head skywards, before the winds began to whip and whirl as a powerful waterspout formed all around the pokemon. 

“TWISTER!” Mr. Briney shouted. “HOLD ON! I’ll try and get us out of this!”

But already, Ruby began to find herself starting to lose her grip on the railings of Mr. Briney’s sailing boat. The wind slashed and it howled till it became nearly unbearable. She didn’t even know if she would be able to hold on, and she looked at the approaching storm and tried to steel herself against the winds. And then, she finally lost grip and was swept away…  
  
 _“RUUUUUUUUBBBBBBYYYYYY!!!”_

\-----

Ruby groaned, sunlight finding its way into her vision. She found herself on an empty sandy beach, pokemon calling somewhere just out of view. Paras prodded at her prone form, with Ruby groaning and mumbling something to herself as she pulled herself out of the white sands. 

How’d she get here again…? Oh right, yeah that happened. 

Ruby’s eyes widened as she realized something.

 _“I’M A CASTAWAY!”_ She shouted with no small amount of unbridled horror. Oh Arceus, she was a castaway! Goodness, this would have been so exciting if it wasn’t so terrifying! Mr. Briney, he probably thought she was dead!

“Oh no no no no no no no…” Ruby began to panic, rapidly pacing back and forth in the sand and rapidly beginning to spiral. She was out here alone, on a probably abandoned island where nobody would ever find her! Her mom, her sister, her dad? They’d never see her again and what’s worse she’d never finish her journey and show up Weiss! 

Ruby took several deep calming breaths. _“Okay, okay. Breathe Rubes. You’re not alone, you’ve got your Pokemon. Well, most of them anyways. You can find a way out of this, and hey, maybe if you go trekking you’ll find this island isn’t as uninhabited as it seems to be!”_

Ruby cracked her knuckles, and grabbed her pack which had landed miraculously just a few feet away from her. She looked inside, okay good most of her supplies seemed to be here. However, the same couldn’t be said for her Pokemon. Only Zwei, doublade and Kerberos’ balls were present. Suppressing a minor shriek, Ruby realized they must have gotten swept away in the storm. The only one that she knew where he was, that was Sawsbuck, who’d been out of his ball on Mr. Briney’s boat.

 _“So you wanna be the master of Pokémon? Gotta understand their secrets and have some fun, right Ruby?”_ the young woman asked herself with a nervous little laugh. _“And get into a few scrapes and misadventures along the way. Yeah, that’s what nobody tells you, alas. Haha! But really, just think of it as a little bump in the road, putting you to the test!”_

Ruby tossed a glance to the jungle ahead of her, and then back behind her. Off in the distance was a broiling storm, probably the same one she and Mr. Briney had been in. Wow, she’d been thrown such a long way! Chances are she wouldn’t be found for days. Hmmmm, this called for a bit of improvisation. Someone had to be out there, right? Some boat or some ship. Ruby snapped her fingers as she realized. A fire! She needed to build a fire! Someone was bound to see the smoke!

_“Well, glad to see all that time me and sis spent in the Poke Scouts isn’t going to go to waste!”_

Ruby smiled, seeing several trees already around her. Yeah, she could do this. “Go, Kerberos!” she shouted, tossing his Pokeball.

With a bright flash, the Dark Pokémon appeared having already healed from his injuries. He blinked in confusion, before sniffing the air obviously trying to figure out where he was and perhaps more importantly, where the gyarados was. 

“Welcome to the Whirl Islands,” Ruby said, gesturing to their surroundings. Next, she joked: “Guess we’re castaway buddies together right?”

 _“Wait, WHAT?”_ Kerberos’ eyes widened. _“We’re…!”_

“Relax, I got this all planned out. See, someone’s going to find us, long as they know we’re here. We just need a fire and they’ll see the smoke! Oh yeah, former Poke Scout in action here!” Ruby said, punching the air.

 _“...so these Poke Scouts covered being stuck on a deserted island?”_ Kerberos blinked in confusion. _“I wasn’t aware that…”_

“Oh no no no, not something _exactly_ like this but what they did cover was getting separated from your group. See, what you had to do was build a fire, and just let them come find you by the cloud of smoke,” Ruby explained. “This is just the same sort of thing, only you replace the forest with a big ocean!”

Kerberos somehow got the feeling she was speaking from plenty of experience.

“Now Kerberos, go and Beat Up those trees! Bring ‘em down!” Ruby said before making several karate chops with accompanying sound effects as down the trees went. “Waaaaaahh, hi-yah! Take that, and this and that! TIIIIIIIMMMMBBBBERRRR!”

Ruby then summoned doublade to chop the palm trunks up, and the Sword Pokémon swiftly got to work, separating in two and slicing them up to more manageable size. Ruby pried away what looked to be a fruit from the palm, before both Kerberos and doublade shouted warnings. They went unheard, and the ‘fruit’ exploded in poor Ruby’s face revealing it to be a pineco. 

Ruby laughed nervously, before she fell backwards collapsing into the sand ash covering her face. Yep, this little island adventure of hers was getting off to a _greeeeeaaattt_ start wasn’t it? And there weren’t even any cookies!

 _“Chin up Miss Rose,”_ Kerberos said. _“We’ve got a fire to build!”_

Together, they set to work hauling logs and then tossing them onto the rapidly growing pile before Kerberos’ throat glowed a bright orange and he lit the whole thing on fire with a Flamethrower. It was a beautiful sight, the fire crackling and the wood popping as a tall column of thick black smoke rose high into the bright sunny skies. Surely, _someone_ would see this!

 _“Well, we can’t wait around all day to be rescued,”_ Kerberos decided rapidly taking charge of the situation. _“We require food!”_

 _“If I may,”_ began Zwei as he’d popped out of his Pokeball. _“Don’t you have a pack you could send into the woods to go and scout for possible sources of food and not other pineco?”_

 _“I eat pineco,”_ Kerberos replied. _“They’re really quite tasty!”_

 _“Food that won’t blow up in Ruby’s face, nor food that’s actually a Pokemon,”_ Zwei corrected. _“You may feel comfortable eating other Pokemon, but I doubt Ruby would be…”_

Kerberos was forced to concede her point. 

“We’ll just go into the jungle then!” Ruby declared pointing skywards. “And hopefully, that’s where the rest of our team landed as well! Onwards!”

She just hoped they were alright. 

On the other end of the island, deep within its jungles lay a collection of Pokeballs. Their occupants lay scattered about the forest floor. Twin houndooms, along with an apple-like dragon who was trying not to shiver in fear at the sight of the two dark-types. 

_“Ooooh, what have we here?”_ one of the two said, his fangs crackling with lightning in anticipation. _“Is it an apple, is it a Pokemon?”_

 _“I think it’s both…”_ the second said, tilting his head curiously. His right forepaw clutched itself around a megastone, undoubtedly their alpha’s it having been tossed here by the howling winds. 

_“It’s still food!”_ the first houndoom declared, before he was knocked flat to the floor by a Giga Impact from Porygon2, beeping and whirring angrily. 

_“Oh no, not the duck!”_ the second whimpered. _“I still remember getting my ass kicked by you!”_

 _“T-Thanks…”_ Appletun said nervously, Porygon2 beeping and chirping happily. _“Not sure I would have been able to handle the two of them on my own. Wow, that Giga Impact of yours sure hits like an angry miltank!”_

Porygon2 beeped and chirped again, and somehow Appletun got the feeling that move was _meant_ to deal with a certain militank. 

_“Shouldn’t we help him?”_ Appletun asked, looking towards the currently KOed houndoom twin. With an annoyed little beep and another angry whir that appletun got the feeling he didn’t want to understand, Porygon2 picked up a fallen potion and sprayed it all over the dark-type. 

_“Damn duck…”_ the houndoom grumbled towards Porygon2. _“Guess you’re wanting us to find our trainer right?”_

Impressively, the usually expressionless digital duck managed a deadpan stare at the doofy dark-type. 

_“Okay, okay! I get the message!”_ Houndoom 1 said. _“Where’d your trainer even find you anyways? I mean, no offense intended but you’re not exactly a common Pokemon. Is she what the humans call a hacker?”_

Porygon2 beeped and chirped again.

 _“And I’m supposed to understand this how?”_ Houndoom 1 asked, raising an eyebrow. 

_“He said something about an arcade and a high score I think…?”_ Appletun trailed off. _“I’m not sure.”_

 _“Wait, you can understand him?”_ Houndoom 2 asked, eyes widening in shock.

 _“Well, not completely but I can understand the general gist of what he’s saying,”_ Appletun replied. _“...I think. For all I know he could have just cursed us all out.”_

The forest was ahead, seemingly growing deeper the more you looked at it. All four Pokemon shared a look, none of them knowing what lay inside. None of them really wanted to go in, but if they wanted to find their trainer, they knew that they had to. It was obviously the first step. So who would take that first venture across that wide threshold?

 _“One for the money, two for the show…”_ Appletun muttered to himself before sucking in a breath and putting on a brave face. _“Three for the money, so let's go!”_

Both of the Houndoom twins gaped in shock as they watched the apparently braver than them little dragon type slowly walk into the jungle, their respect for him growing.

 _“Hey wait up!”_ Houndoom 1 shouted as he and his twin scampered off after him. _“No way in the Reverse World are we going to let some little grass-type show us up!”_

 _“Oh, so you want to protect me?”_ Appletun asked, Porygon2 hovering above his head. _“Just a few minutes ago you wanted to eat me!”_

 _“Oh, no way we’re protecting you!”_ Houndoom 2 denied. _“Didn’t you just hear, this is an ego thing!”_

 _“Yeah!”_ Houndoom 1 agreed. _“So where’d you think our trainer got off to? You think she got eaten alive? Because I dunno, some Pokemon don’t take kindly to a little girl landing in their den…”_ he joked.

The rest of the group glared at him, not finding the attempt at humor in his statement to be all that funny.

 _“Please don’t do that, I’m worried enough without you adding to it!”_ Appletun muttered. _“I swear, if Trevenant was here, he’d smack you upside the head with one of those big branches of his…”_

 _“Where is Trevenant anyways?”_ Houndoom 2 pondered. _“Arceus, looking for him in this jungle has to be like looking for a needle in a hay barn!”_

 _“That’s haystack,”_ his twin corrected.

 _“No no, a haystack’s child's play. A hay barn is an exercise in futility,”_ Houndoom 2 argued. _“Oh, I hope he didn’t get crushed by any giant pokemon…”_

 _“Giant Pokemon?”_ Appletun questioned not sure if he really wanted to know.

 _“Yeah, you know like in that book I read!”_ Houndoom 2 exclaimed. _“That old one by that author from Kalos?”_

 _“You read?”_ his twin asked, in a teasing tone. _“I didn’t know you were intelligent enough to read!”_

 _“Oh shut up!”_ Houndoom 2 grumbled, whacking his twin over the head. _“You’re no genius yourself!”_

 _“Arceus, strike me down with Judgement and end this humiliation…”_ Appletun muttered to himself as they walked deeper and deeper into the jungle, strange sights and sounds all around them. Eyes peered out of the gloom, strange unfriendly ones. Creatures moved in the undergrowth, dark shadowy shapes darting just out of sight. Appletun took several deep breaths, the sooner he was out of this jungle the better.

 _“Scared?”_ Houndoom 1 teased. _“Hey, think of it this way, it’s like a vacation to Aloha, just without all the expensive tickets and all the waiting around in the airport! And... y'know, not actually being in Aloha...”_

 _“Oh, by the way…”_ Houndoom 2 said leaning in close to appletun before shouting loudly: _“BOO!”_

Appletun nearly jumped several feet in the air as the Trouble Twins broke down laughing like idiots. They slapped their paws on the dirt, cackling up a storm. 

Ruby, meanwhile, hearing the sound of what hopefully was laughter, picked up the pace as she scrambled up a massive tree root and atop a hillside. Like a human mankey, she climbed with Zwei letting out a low whistle as he watched.

 _“Must have climbed a lot of trees in her backyard…”_ Kerberos uttered.

 _“You heard that laughing didn’t you?”_ Zwei asked. Doublade had been left behind to watch the fire and the ocean. 

_“Yep, I heard it. Sounded like those two morons I used to know back in my pack…”_ Kerberos commented.

 _“Didn’t Ruby capture ‘those two morons’?”_ Zwei pointed out.

 _“Good point!”_ Kerberos realized as he began rebounding off tree trunks to join his trainer. Zwei grumbled something under his breath about how he wasn’t nearly as much of an athlete and had to be pulled up. 

The threesome picked up the pace, and quickly managed to rejoin the group, Ruby hugging all of her Pokemon tightly. 

_“Can’t breathe…”_ Houndoom 1 wheezed out, his twin awash with sympathy. Meaning, he was about to die laughing. 

Then, something roared in the background, and all of the team looked around nervously hearing the sound of crashing trees. From out of the dark forest crashed a truly massive specimen of Venusaur, the final evolution of the bulbasaur line not looking happy at all.

“Oh come on, not again!” Ruby shouted as she had to dive to the left to avoid a Frenzy Plant from the Seed Pokémon. Vines erupted from the ground and threatened to entangle, snare and trip up the group, and some did actually end up managing to pin Porygon2 to the trunk of a nearby tree. He beeped and whirred angrily. 

“...I’m really starting to get tired of today…” Ruby grumbled even as the venusaur charged himself up with Sunny Day. “It’s like one thing after the other! [ Team, let’s trash this guy!” ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SeGoR8ZzUY)

_“Thought you’d never ask!”_ Kerberos roared as he and the Trouble Twins’ throats glowed a bright orange before they unleashed a triple flamethrower at the massive Seed Pokémon. Venusaur growled before stamping his foot, unleashing another flurry of Frenzy Plant generated vines that the flames tore through instead. 

As the vines covered the clearing, growing higher and higher, all three houndooms leaped skywards even as their foe charged up a Solar Beam to stop them. Venusaur fired, the massive blast of solar energy slamming into the threesome but they all powered on through it. Kerberos emerged first, slamming his paws into the Seed Pokémon’s skin with Beat Up. 

The Trouble Twins meanwhile, synchronized and bit down on either side with a Thunder Fang/Fire Fang combo, Venusaur roaring out in pain. 

He threw them off, smashing them through the earlier erupted vines, wood splinters flying everywhere. Ruby had since taken cover behind a massive root. Both Twin 1 and Twin 2 skidded to a halt in the dirt as Kerberos leaped in to join his pack. 

_“Well, that was… a rush,”_ Kerberos said with a low growl, standing firm. _“Toil, Trouble! You know what to do!”_

Both houndoom nodded, and charged in with Pursuit slamming into Venusaur from the left and from the right, before they were knocked away with Venoshock. Toil, in particular, staggered about in a poisoned daze. Trouble growled, before he was sent flying by another Frenzy Plant. He slammed into a tree trunk, before slipping into unconsciousness. 

“Is it just me, or does that thing seem to be getting faster?” Ruby pondered.

 _“No, it’s not just you!”_ Zwei said, dodging the vines left and right. _“He’s got to have Chlorophyll as a hidden ability. It’s all this sunlight, he’s absorbing its power!”_

“Well, I suppose it can’t get any worse, least he can’t seem to Giganti… nope, not finishing that sentence! I’m so not jinxing myself!” Ruby said quickly before consulting her dex. “Zwei! Use Rock Tomb!”

Zwei stamped his foot, the Herdier glowing with power before rocky crags erupted from either side of Venusaur entombing him and doing a lot of damage. Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow, sighing in relief. However, that seemed to be way too soon given the massive dinosaur erupted from the rocky sarcophagus with a loud roar. 

“YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!” Ruby shouted in shock and fear. By now, Venusaur’s main ability Overgrow had activated and it’s Frenzy Plant just became that much more powerful. It was all Zwei could do to roll out of the way of the oncoming vines. Porygon2 finally broke free, and slammed into the angry giant with a Gyro Ball. 

Venusaur was nearly toppled over, but still, he stood firm. Zwei launched himself forwards, glowing with electricity in a last desperate resort. This was Wild Charge.

“Zwei, no! You’ll never stop it like that!” Ruby called, but it was too late as Zwei was knocked out by the recoil, Venusaur staggering.

Finally, Appletun had enough of this grass type monster’s power. 

_“Taste Apple Acid!”_ he cried, breaking out the signature move of his evolution line, spitting a glob of the stuff at Venusaur, blinding him and covering his face with the goop. As Venusaur struggled to tear away the gunk, Kerberos and his newfound partner shared a nod. Together, they struck the final blow with a Flamethrower/Dragon Pulse combo. Finally, Venusaur slumped forwards with an earthshaking thud and collapsed into unconsciousness. 

Before Ruby could reach into her bag and toss a Pokeball to capture the Seed Pokémon, there came the honk of a boat’s horn. Ruby’s eyes widened, the fire! They must have seen the smoke!

She, gathering up all of her Pokemon rushed towards the beach with the speed of a Suicune. 

“Ahoy there!” shouted a familiar voice, and Ruby smiled.

“Mr. Briney!” she called, and rushed up the side of the boat to embrace her Sawsbuck.  
  
“Thought you might be looking for this,” Mr. Briney said as he handed her Sawsbuck’s pokeball along with one other. 

“Trevy!” Ruby cheered, nuzzling the ghost-type’s pokeball to her cheek. 

“Well now, assuming we don’t run into anything else, how’d you like to set sail to one Blue Point Isle eh?” Mr. Briney asked and Ruby could only grin, Cianwood here they come!


	8. 8: Insane Isle Introductions!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, continuing with the added alliteration appeal here...

“Those… those are some fat pidgeys…” Ruby stammered as she gazed at the sight in front of her. Across the fields in front of her, where Ruby sat on a porch step were some unique pokemon to be sure. And by unique I mean amazingly fat. Pudgy problematic Pidgeys. Ruby couldn’t even have a peanut before one of them hopped over and grabbed it out of her hand.

Poor Appletun had to send one pidgey literally rolling away before they got the hint that he wasn’t actually food.

 _“Wow, they are…”_ Toil said, trying not to drool, some of his natural predatory instincts starting to show. 

_“Fat?”_ Trouble suggested blunt as ever.

 _“I was going to say pudgy, problematic, pointless property!”_ Toil replied. _“What use is a pidgey that cannot fly?”_

 _“I dunno, it sounds like a free meal to me!”_ Trouble said before Toil bonked him over the head.

_“It’s a Pokemon Protection Preserve, pretty sure we’d be in a lot of trouble if we eat even one!”_

_“Oh right, but since when were you the brainy one? And for that matter,”_ Trouble realized. _“Since when were you the poet?”_

 _“I dunno, one horribly horrific hideously handsome houndoom has to have a hobby, right?”_ Toil rattled off with his terrible tricky twin’s eyes going wide. 

_“There were so many big words there, and I only understood half of them…”_ Trouble stammered out.

 _“The incredibly imbecile incompetant infernal idiot is incurable of his idiocy.”_ Toil grumbled.

 _“You’re just using this as a chance to insult me, aren’t you?”_ Trouble replied.

 _“Infernal inflammatory intelligent insults.”_ Toil deadpanned.

“So what exactly happened here?” Ruby had to ask as one particularly pudgy pidgey nestled itself in her lap, hoping for more food. The owner of the sole house on the island, one Wilbur Wright was happy to oblige her with an answer.

“Well, there’s a few theories actually. One, the most popular and the one we’ll go with? It suggests in an absence of natural predators, the pidgeys were allowed to populate profusely. And without a need to flee, they grew… Well, you can see for yourself.”

“So no profusely pudgy pidgeots?” Ruby joked.

“We can theorize this is just simply a natural evolution, of sorts, to their biology,” Wilbur mused. “It’s not uncommon for Pokemon to evolve differently due to their environment. I’ve heard stories of an island where all the Pokemon are pink! Can you imagine?”

“Sounds like a place I’d want to go to!” Ruby joked, trying to imagine _any_ Pokemon in pink. Her eyes turned to a certain houndoom duo, and in her head she imagined what they’d look like but in pink. She failed miserably to stop herself from laughing, having to stop and catch her breath before she made herself sick.

“You laugh, but for Pokemon researchers like myself, stuff like this is a dream come true!” Wilbur explained. “Unraveling the many mysteries of the Pokemon world? That’s what we live for…”

“And yet you study improbably pudgy pidgey,” Ruby deadpanned.

“Ah, well, not all of our research can be quite so romantic, eh?” Wilbur said, a normal sized pidgey with flight goggles atop his head perched on the man’s shoulder. “I have to ask though, what brings you out here? Most people don’t come out to this island!”

“Well, I’m actually heading for Blue Point Island, you know for the gym over there? Problem is, well…” Ruby said, looking out to sea in the direction of that which she seeked. Dark storm clouds began to gather over the island, seemingly coming from Silver Rock Isle. Rumors said, this was where the legendary Pokemon Lugia came to rest. The young woman just hoped it wasn’t about to give birth to a storm of 40 days and 40 nights.

“Ah, I see,” Wilbur nodded in understanding. “So you had to take a detour, then? Well, with any luck, you won’t be here too long. Sorry to say, unless you like probamaticaly pudgy pidgey, there’s not much to do out here!”

“Probamatically?” Ruby questioned.

“As in troublesome.” Wilbur started to explain, before Ruby waved a hand.

“No, no, I know what it means. But what’s the…?”

“Well…” Wilbur said, gesturing to the rather sadly lazy collection of flying types, who seemed to be more interested in where their next meal was coming from rather than anything else. 

“Ah,” Ruby said. “That is potentially problematic.”

“Agreed!” Wilbur said sadly. “Pokemon shouldn’t be like this, they should be… well, happy and healthy. The pidgey seem happy, maybe not healthy though. In my mind, they should all be taking to the skies! Poor Orville here…”

Here he stroked the head of his pidgey friend.

“...seems to be the only one interested in flying, really,” Wilbur admitted sadly. “Alas, I fear that not even he could stir these pidgey into action. But we’ll keep trying, after all, what else can we do?”

“I… actually kinda sympathize,” Ruby said and Wilbur looked at her curiously. “See, there’s this girl, my rival okay? I’m not sure if I can beat her, she’s got far more powerful Pokemon than I do and yet…”

“You keep trying as it’s the only thing you can do?” Wllbur said, with Ruby nodding along. 

“Exactly, but here I stand able to help someone else reach their dream and yeah sure I really should be heading on towards the next island, to see if I can at least make some headway. But not just yet. You’ve got a dream, and Orville has a dream and I cannot just stand by idly while you worry about what could bes and what might have beens! These Pokemon, they need our help and it’s our job as researchers and trainers alike to help them!” Ruby shouted, pointing directly to the sky.

 _“There she goes with one of her impassioned speeches again…”_ Kerberos uttered, though not without a hint of fondness. _“Well, looks like we’re going to get dragged into one of her loony plans again!”_

 _“You’re about to get dragged into a crazy plan, me and bro here?”_ Toil said. _“We’re just going to go bird watching!”_

 _“Man, if you ask me, this whole thing is crazy,”_ Trouble said. _“Look at that little pidgey, he thinks he’s all that!”_

 _“Man, if you ask me, you really should both dream big!”_ Kerberos said in a sarcastic tone. _“Instead, all you two dare to dream is where your next meal is coming from. Pretty soon, you’ll become like these pidgey. All fat, and no substance.”_

 _“I personally like these pidgey!”_ Toil replied. 

_“So, what do you think? Evolution, de-evolution, mutation?”_ Trouble asked. _“What’s your theory?”_

 _“I was just going to say they’re very fat,”_ Toil replied before he began to drool. _“Appetizingly so, in fact!”_

Wisely, Kerberos decided to press the buttons on their poke balls, recalling them, before Pudgy Pidgey Isle became All You Can Eat Buffet Isle. Next, he found himself drafted to act as a makeshift burner for a balloon, and rapidly the massive contraption began to inflate.

“Well, if you’re afraid of heights, now would be a very good time to mention it!” Wilbur said as the balloon began to lift off, Ruby clambering into the basket. 

The ground soon began to get farther and farther away, and the pudgy pidgey didn’t look so pudgy anymore as the balloon rose higher and higher. 

Mr. Briney, while he waited on his boat shooting the breeze, saw the balloon take off towards the skies.

“Feel the call to adventure young Miss Rose!” he shouted.

Ruby meanwhile, felt like she was going to freeze, even as she huddled next to Kerberos. If she’d known this was what she was going to be doing today, she’d have brought warmer clothes. Orville, for his part, didn’t seem all that concerned and he flew like greased lightning towards the stratosphere. 

“Well, if all goes well, we may very well set a record for pidgey flight!” Wilbur laughed merrily, while Ruby looked curious.

“What’s the story with Orville anyways?” she had to ask. “He certainly doesn’t look like any pidgey on this island! Did you capture him and bring him here with you?”

“Actually, no. Believe it or not, Orville was born here! Right on this very island!” Wilbur said. “I don’t know how, or why, but while other pidgies worried about where their next meal was coming from? Orville wanted to fly higher, further, faster than any other pidgey before him!”

“Well, can’t fault him for dreaming big I suppose!” Ruby said, as she gazed out over the clear blue seas, the waters sparkling below as they seemed to become a blanket of blue. Pudgy Pidgey Isle was barely but a tiny speck below. Obviously, it’s residents could not be seen at this height. Ruby gasped in awe, so this was what it felt like to fly!

“See, I tried to train the other pidgey to lift off and take to the skies, but Orville? He was the only one who actually wanted to, so I took what I could get and trained him to dream big, just as you said!” Wilbur explained. The sun shone down, and Kerberos basked in its rays his fire feeling fiercer than ever. He poured on the power, and the balloon began to climb faster. Soon, Wilbur realized, they’d need to be wearing oxygen masks. 

But before that, they had another worry! As from out of nowhere, came a screeching spearow swarm, all looking incredibly peeved off that Orville had breached their territory.

“Oh boy, if they get at him with those sharp beaks…” Ruby swallowed before she summoned Appletun.

 _“Spearow? Oh man, I’m going to enjoy this! Damn birds always trying to eat me!”_ the little Apple Nectar Pokémon said, before spraying some Apple Acid in the flock’s faces. As they tried to peck the gunk off, he let them have it with a Dragon Pulse.

The birds plummeted, and, plop, plop, plop into the sea below they went. 

_“Looks like you’re all washed up, eh?”_ the dragon-type punned, not being able to resist. _“Oh dear Arceus, I think the terrible twosome are rubbing off on me!”_

And then, Orville let out a triumphant squawk, spreading his wings as he nearly touched the sun. He’d done it, he’d reached his dreams and now… well, he could brag about it all to his friends down below! 

So, the triumphant threesome returned to mother earth, and to their surprise…

“Are… are all of the pidgey trying to fly?” Ruby asked in shock, seeing the horrendously overweight flying types hopping around and some even spreading their wings for a brief few glorious moments. 

“Well, looks like Orville reminded them of how they should be!” Wilbur laughed joyously. “We may be witnessing a minor miracle here, Ruby!”

At this, Ruby smiled. These pokemon should have been flying long ago. They’d just forgotten how, and who knew it would take but one small pidgey who everyone was betting against to just show them the way! It kinda reminded her of herself actually. If this little pidgey could achieve his dreams, why not her? Yeah, she could so totally do this, she could beat Weiss!

 _“I gotta ask,”_ Toil said as he and Trouble popped out of their pokeballs. _“What vexes all Pokemon?”_

 _“Sums? Their next meal? The dichotomy of good and evil?”_ Trouble suggested.

 _“The inability to dream big!”_ Toil replied, looking at his twin oddly for a moment. _“See, that little pidgey there?”_

 _“You bet against that little pidgey!”_ Trouble pointed out.

 _“And now I’m un-betting against him,”_ Toil said.

 _“That’s not even a word! And you call yourself a poet!”_ Trouble drawled.

 _“Oh hush you, you can’t even read a book! So I dare you to try poetry!”_ Toil snarked.

 _“The incredibly imbecile incompetent infernal idiot is incurable of his idiocy.”_ Trouble returned, infuriating his twin.

 _“You just stole that from me! That was some pretty pointless painful plagiarism!”_ Toil snapped before the two began to brawl. Ruby just giggled. It seemed some things never changed.

\-----

Onto the next island, and I say this because…

“Aaargggh,” Mr. Briney sighed. “We’re running low on supplies, and I don’t feel comfortable making it to Blue Point Island with how low on food we are! We’ll have to take a slight detour, I’m afraid!”

Ruby sighed, at this rate they’d never make it to Blue Point!

“Oh, don’t be so down Miss Rose. Yellow Rock Island is a fine place, and think of this as a little vacation!”

 _“He’s right you know,”_ Sawsbuck said. _“Truth be told, you have been pushing yourself pretty hard as of late. You need to slow down, relax, and enjoy life a little. What’s the fun in traveling the world unless you don’t get to enjoy a little bit of it, right?”_

And so, Ruby found herself wandering the cobblestone streets of Ogi City and she’d actually noticed something strange. There were a _lot_ of yellow Pokemon all around her, actually now that she thought about it. Ampharos, an Alolan Exeggutor or two, Alakazam, and even a Ninjask surrounded her.

“Boy, Yang would love this place…” Ruby mused, the Houndoom trio by her side as they soaked up the sun’s rays. “More yellow than she would know what to do with! It’s pretty blinding, actually… I mean, come on, throw on some red or something!”

Around town, there were signs speaking of a Magikarp Katching Kontest. Poor literacy and all. Because, apparently, that was ‘kool’.

“Hey, you there!’ shouted a kid’s voice. “You’re from Red Rock Isle aren’t you? You guys think you’re so cool, with your love of scarlet and crimson! Now get lost, here only gold and yellow are allowed!”

Wait, what? Oh, was it her red clothes? Was that it? Ruby sweatdropped, why did she always attract the oddballs?

“Hey, uh, listen, I’m sure we can all get along right…?” Ruby said, holding her hands up defensively. 

“And another thing!” the kid said as he marched up. “Fire types, really? You need a water type if you’re going to be allowed on this island!”

Ruby noticed how many stares were on her by this point.

 _“Geez, some people take their inter-town rivalries seriously! Like… what?”_ she thought to herself.

 _“Well, I always knew you’d get us into trouble one day!”_ Kerberos said to the terrible twosome. _“Just didn’t imagine it’d be like this!”_

“Er… would it make you happy if I went out and caught a Numel?” Ruby said, trying to be the peacemaker. “They’re yellow… right?”

“NO!” the kid said. “You gotta go and grab a water type, not a fire type! Like so!”

Here, he unleashed a Seadra into a nearby waterway, the sea horse-like Pokemon glaring at the terrific trio fiercely, a long instinctive type rivalry settling in. The trio glared back.

“...isn’t Seadra mostly blue?” Ruby questioned. Her question went ignored, because obviously. 

“Now, if you’re going to be allowed on this island, you gotta battle someone and prove you’re worthy to be here!” the kid, apparently named Wheeler as Ruby would later learn shouted. “So I say you battle me!”

 _“Man, I wish Mr. Briney had warned me about this!”_ Ruby groaned to herself. _“And here I was going to have a little vacation!”_

[ But in any event, ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh-pIjfRk1M) so the battle began!

Sawbuck took to the forefront, thoroughly annoyed with his friend’s vacation being disrupted by some bratty kid.

Seadra leaped out of the water, firing off a bubble beam, which Sawsbuck just sidestepped. He fired off an Energy Ball in response knocking the sea horse-like Pokemon back into the canal. Then, the waters erupted as out of the normally tranquil waterway came a blast of ice arcing down to face Sawsbuck. The pokemon’s eyes widened, unable to avoid in time.

He staggered back, his horns covered in frost as the seadra made sounds like it was laughing. But no, the experienced grass-type would not fall so easily to this one little upstart. 

Charging up a solar beam, finally the blast erupted in a flare of energy carving up the water as Sawsbuck’s horns blazed with light. Seadra slammed into a canel wall, dazed and confused. Ruby laughed joyously, there had been a reason she’d been working day and night to get ahold of that TM for her beloved deer pokemon. 

Wheeler’s eyes widened, as he recalled his Pokemon. “Okay, so you got lucky. But now you face… Ninjask!

 ** _“Ninjask moves around at such a high speed that it cannot be seen, even while its crying can be clearly heard. For that reason, this Pokémon was long believed to be invisible._** **_If Ninjask is not trained properly, it will refuse to obey the Trainer and cry loudly continuously. Because of this quality, this Pokémon is said to be one that puts the Trainer's abilities to the test.”_** Ruby’s Pokedex sprouted off.

“Well, hopefully…” she started before Ninjask slammed into Sawsbuck at nearly impossible speed. “OH COME ON!”

“Hah, wasn’t expecting that, were you? My family’s trained Ninjask for generations! I know _all_ there is to know about this species of Pokemon!” Wheeler bragged.

Now Ruby was really starting to get annoyed, and her head was starting to hurt from this kid’s boasting. As she recalled Sawsbuck, she grit her teeth. Time to end this quick. Thankfully, she had a solution. As cruel as this was, she was really peeved off about this bratty kid interrupting her vacation. Which, by the way, Sawsbuck himself suggested she take if you might recall.

And so, therefore that massive Venusaur she’d actually managed to defeat and capture on that one unnamed island? He emerged, the Seed Pokémon looking annoyed himself, apparently having been woken up from his nap. Ruby almost smirked when she saw Wheeler gulp. Almost.

Ruby snapped her fingers, wanting to get this over with fast so she could actually enjoy herself. Maybe she’d go diving, or something! Those waters looked so nice right about now…

“Venusaur…” Ruby started. “Frenzy Plant!”

“What, no, your Pokemon can’t possibly know…” Wheeler tried to say, but was soon proven wrong when his Ninjask was tangled up in vines. And that, really, was that, actually. Humble pie delivered, Ruby thought. 

“Oh… okay, so you’re not bad,” Wheeler admitted. “Alright, maybe you do belong on this island after all. Sorry about all that, it’s our job to basically ‘haze’ the newcomers. See if they’re ready to face the Whirl Islands.”

“I’m ready to face Chuck, if that’s what you mean! Heck, I actually _caught_ Venusaur on one of the islands!” Ruby said confidently, stroking the Seed Pokémon’s massive saurian head, making it let out a pleased groan. 

Wheeler blinked rapidly in surprise. “Um, okay, uh… wow. If I’d known that… Well then, welcome to Ogi City. You still need a yellow pokemon though! Thankfully, I know where you can get one. See, little known fact? Ogi’s home to a _lot_ of shiny magikarp and every year we host a fishing contest, see who can reel in the biggest fish. Winner gets to keep theirs!”

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing about that…” Ruby said.

“So, what do you say?” Wheeler asked.

Ruby grinned, she’d always wanted her own gyarados ever since she got Gilligan’s Islanded by that one just a few days ago! “Okay, I am _so_ game!”

And so just a few short minutes later...

“Allllllllllriiiiiiiiggggggggghhhhtt, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 200th annual Yellow Rock Island Fishing Extravaganza! As you all know, our island is famous for its love affair with yellow pokemon, and what could be more yellow than one shiny magikarp? But wait, there’s more, as winner takes home the gold so to speak and they get to keep their karp! Now grab your best fishing rods, ladies and gentlemen and cast those linnnnnnnnnnneeeeeesssss!”

The tannoy went off, and Ruby cast her line with Wheeler soon to follow. 

“Oh, this is going to be a _gold_ mine!” Wheeler laughed.

“Oh Legendaries, don’t you start. You’re as bad as my sister!” Ruby groaned.

“Oh, what’s wrong, you want to give me the _gold_ shoulder?” Wheeler teased and Ruby groaned only louder. “Your sister? She sounds like a…”

“Don’t say it, don’t say it…” Ruby repeated to herself.

“Chip off the gold block!” Wheeler proclaimed.

“You said it, you had to go and say it…” Ruby deadpanned. “Just marry my sister, why don’t you?”  
  
“Maybe I should! She sounds like a gal after my own heart!” Wheeler decreed. “But of course, true love never did pun smooth. I'm going to pun amok! I'm never going to pun out of steam.”

Ruby groaned. “I’m in hell…” 

And then she placed a pokedollar in her own swear jar. And resolved never to tell Yang about this. She’d never know true peace after the fact.

“Really wish you could stay longer, I think you’d like Ogi City,” Wheeler said. “There’s plenty to see and do really. Heck, one of our biggest attractions is arts and crafts made from corsola branches, and if diving’s your thing… Well, we’ve got plenty of shipwrecks!”

“I’ll keep it in mind…” Ruby smiled before her fishing rod arched, and her eyes widened as Wheeler’s rod was given a tug.

“Oh, oh, oh! What have we here folks?” shouted the announcer. “Looks like we’ve got two bites on the line over there! Will our two little fishermen and fisherwomen bring home the gold, or will they only find themselves with a feebas?”

Ruby rolled her eyes. Evidently, nobody had told him what a feebas evolved _into._ All the same, with all of her might, she began to hold her ground as she and Wheeler reeled their catches in.

The water practically _erupted_ as a truly massive karp thrashed on the end of Ruby’s line, and soon Wheeler was reeling another big karp out of the sea as well. He and Ruby shared a look, knowing they would not be able to kapture their karp unless they subdued them.

“Ninjask, Air Slash!”/“Venusaur, Sleep Powder!” the two called in unison, before they threw specially marked Dive Balls and with bright flashes of red light, the karp were kaught.

One by one, the other contestants kept katching their karp and bringing them to the judges for a proper weighing. 

The weights were called out fast and furious, Ruby and Wheeler sucking in breaths as the final weights came in…

“45 Pounds!”

“35 Pounds!”  
  
“33 Pounds!”

“40 Pounds!”  
  
“43 Pounds!”

“47 Pounds!”

“27 Pounds!”

And then the truly big numbers began to come in…

“47 Pounds!”

“50 Pounds!”  
  
“51 Pounds!”  
  
“53 Pounds!”

“55 Pounds!”

Ruby and Wheeler shared nervous looks.

“Well, can’t win ‘em all I guess…” Ruby laughed nervously.

And then _their_ weights came in.

“65 Pounds!” called a judge as she weighed Wheeler’s fish. You could hear a _lot_ of fishermen sucking in breaths at this. And then came Ruby’s.

“67! 67 Pounds!” shouted a judge. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe we have our winner!”

Ruby’s jaw dropped, and her eyes went wide as she felt a little bit faint actually. She… she actually won that? She couldn’t believe it! Oh dear, yeah there went the legs…

Wheeler caught her, even as the judge spotted Ruby. “Please young madam, come up and collect your prize!”

Ruby nervously stepped up and sucked her new catch back into its ball. 

“Now, what’s your name, miss?” the head judge, a big heavyset man with a beard asked. “We got to record this one for posterity!” 

“R-Ruby Rose…” Ruby stammered out, nervous to give out her real name for obvious reasons. There were a few low whispers and mutters, some recognizing the name. Ruby’s breath caught in her throat, thankfully nobody seemed to want to come up and ask for her autograph. Yet. 

“Well, congratulations Miss Rose!” said the head judge over the flash of a camera, as he handed her a trophy. “You’ve set a new record!”

And at this, Ruby _did_ faint.

\-----

“Well, you should be proud of yourself Miss Rose,” Mr. Briney said as they neared Blue Point Island, the city of Cianwood slowly coming into view just across the white sand beaches. Already, they were packed with tourists ready to have some fun in the sun now that the storms had finally passed. “You set yourself a new record, and you caught yourself a new Pokemon in the bargain! Win-Win I say.”

“Yeah, now only if I knew what to do with it…” Ruby said. “I’ve only just now realized I have no idea how to _train_ one of these things. I mean, I want a gyarados badly, but…”

“Agh, you’ll figure it out. Forgive an old sea dog for his advice, but I hear tell of rumors that you’ve got to train it’s strength. Make it swim faster and faster. Magikarp can survive anywhere, but you’ve got to teach them to swim as fast as they can possibly go!” Mr. Briney advised, to Ruby’s grateful smile.

“Thanks!”

“It’s what I’m here for, what use is age if you can’t pass down some of your wisdom from time to time eh?” Mr. Briney said with a chortle. “Now you’ve got a Shiny Pokemon right? Well, looks like the Lake of Rage won’t be the only place that’ll be seeing a red gyarados from now on!”

“You’re right!” Ruby realized having heard the stories. “And my gyarados will be in my favorite color to boot! Oh, I’m soooooo bragging about this to Yang!”

“And yet you still don’t look happy…” Mr. Briney pressed.

“Was I that obvious?” Ruby sighed. “Okay, yeah, you got me. Had to mention who I was to the head judge back at Ogi. Needless to say, got a few people realizing just who I share a last name with. They think I’m the bee’s knees, and… yeah I’m flattered that they think I’m something special but I… I just want to be a normal girl, with normal knees!”

“Hate to say it, but you’ll never be normal Miss Rose,” Mr. Briney said. “As soon as you were born, people were going to look at you differently and expect high things from you and your sister. Now, I’m not saying you should become an exact copy of your mother as I know you don’t want that but…”

“But what?”

“There will come a time when you have to face your fame,” Mr. Briney said. “Best be keeping a weathered eye on the horizon, as it may come sooner than you think…”

Meanwhile, Ruby found she had altogether different problems than just worrying about her fame because as soon as she touched land, she headed for the Cianwood Gym. However, when she got there…

“Out on a training retreat, and I won’t be back till Saturday…” Ruby read off the note on the door, and she threw back her head in a groan. “Are you seriously kidding me? I’m on a tight schedule here, the Silver Conference won’t wait for everyone!”

 _“Well, looks like our vacation continues…”_ Sawsbuck stated.

[Which is why](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDjKqw8hh2I) Ruby found herself going for a dive in the deep blue seas surrounding the island. It wasn’t the first time she’d gone swimming, actually. She’d gone for a few dives back off the coasts of Patch, though needless to say the waters of Galar were _much_ colder than those of Johto’s. Meaning she had to wear a full-body dive suit instead of only a swimsuit.

She still opted to wear a full-body dive suit, anyways, given she wasn’t really sure if she wanted people to see her body as she explored the coves off of Cianwood Bay. Mind, this did give her a chance to bond with her new magikarp, the golden scales shining like the sun in the cerulean blue tropical waters.

Okay, so she’d had a few slight detours here and there, so what? She was having fun, maybe Sawsbuck was right! This was _exactly_ what she needed! No worrying about gym battles, no worrying about the Silver Conference in a few months and most importantly, no worrying about bratty girls named Weiss Schnee!

Mind, she did wonder what Weiss was doing right about now. Probably back off to Olivine Gym to face Jasmine for her mineral badge. Ruby honestly hoped she got caught up in a storm. No, no! No worrying about Weiss was doing right about now, Ruby reminded herself. It was just her, and the deep blue sea!

Thrusting herself forwards through a hole in a coral shelf, Ruby did a little spin and gasped as she saw a school of mantine above her, the ray-like Pokemon gently gliding through the waters above her. Their bodies seemed darker under the sun, and they were beautifully elegant as they made the reefs their playground.

A milotic swam past, and in spite of herself, Ruby couldn’t help but to grab on as the serpent-like Pokemon took her on a journey deeper out of the cove. The extraordinarily beautiful pokemon gave a gentle cue, not annoyed at all by her new passenger. It took her into a grove of pure beauty, many colors of coral below her. Oranges and reds dotted the seascape, red weeds gently drifting in the tidal waters. 

Corsola hopped below her, the pokemon looking right at home in this reef. Milotic went into a spin, and so did she. Ruby’s eyes widened as she saw her magikarp keep up with the much faster pokemon. It’s swimming speed must have been better than she thought! How far away was it from evolving actually? Could she have a gyarados in just a few days? Well, the sooner to brag to Yang, the better right? 

Milotic curled and coiled around her, booping Ruby on the nose in a friendly way before cooing and swimming off to deeper waters. Ruby sighed to herself, oh well her time spent with her new friend couldn’t last forever right? 

Thankfully, there seemed to be plenty of other pokemon around her to experience. Ruby deeply regretted not having brought a few dive balls with her. She could have gone on a spree! In any event, Ruby swam between the coral canyons, smaller fish darting into their hiding holes. Shellder peered out from little caverns, only their tongues and eyes visible. Playful little horsea danced about, Ruby giggling as one blew bubbles in her face. A gorebyss rushed past, and quickly vanished into the waters. Above her, a school of the pink pokemon rapidly swam on a migratory route. Life was everywhere!

Finally, Ruby broke free of the coral canyons, but the fun didn’t just stop. Oh no, as you’ll soon see the real adventure was just beginning. 

Seel swam about, their pure white forms visible and bright as the new fallen snow playfully darting about Ruby, and urging her onto play. And so Ruby did, gently giggling as the seel gave chase through the wreck of some old treasure ship. Perhaps a galleon making its way to port only to get caught in one of the island’s infamous whirlpools, or maybe… just maybe even having been sunk by actual _pirates_! Oh, that would have been truly awesome to see, a battle on the high seas between buccaneers and sailors!

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done be the rest! And some really bad eggs! Could you tell Ruby had always been a bit entranced by the romantic life of pirates? From a young age, she had played Pirate Captain with her sister. Sadly, more often than not Ruby ended up being the distressed damsel while Yang was Captain Goldenmane the 2nd, but… Fun times!

Ruby glided out through the hole in the treasure ship, as a school of goldeen swam around her. Something caught her eye, actually, an odd little curiosity glinting in the darkened waters. Ruby raised an eyebrow. Well, it didn’t hurt to explore a little did it? Last time she did, she found a megastone for her houndoom, and… actually her houndoom himself for that matter! So, maybe going to see what this was would yield similar results! 

Oh, Ruby hoped she wouldn’t encounter any sharpedo. ...they didn’t come this close to shore, at least that’s what she thought. Did they?

No matter, she felt the call to “ADVENTURE!” as Mr. Briney often put it. And yes, he did always shout it. Why exactly Ruby had never figured out. Oh well, maybe it was a sea captain thing…

Swimming into a lower part of the treasure galleon through some seaweed, Ruby’s eyes widened and she couldn’t help let a little gasp escape her as she imagined what this place once must have been like. A merchant ship, laden with gold and jewels of only the finest quality. 

Sadly, it seemed all of the treasures had long been since looted. Oh well, no getting rich for her! Now, only ghosts called this ship home. A paper map floated by, before disintegrating. A treasure map perhaps, or maybe navigational charts. Ruby could only guess. Plates and silverware rested in the silt, covered by barnacles. A sharpedo tooth necklace floated by, Ruby grabbing it and stuffing it in her bag. Well, waste not want not right? Besides, it looked cool!

Wasn’t as cool as that capsule toy she found one time, a crazy little monster guy but this was still cool. 

And yet still, there was a shine off in the distance and Ruby swam deeper into the shipwreck. 

A chest lay amongst the ruins, and Ruby peered inside. There were a few old books, now waterlogged and some other odds and ends, but what really caught Ruby’s attention was a mysterious shiny wing. She swore she’d seen something like this before, but what? It nagged at her, in the back of her mind. Where had she seen something like this before?

Pocketing it in her back with the rest of her salvage, she looked for a way out. She’d get this appraised back on dry land, for now she needed to actually _get_ to dry land. Ruby grumbled something to herself, she knew she should have rented a bigger air tank!

Summoning Doublade, she had the ghost type slash a hole above her, and up she went. Then, she heard a roar, and her eyes widened. Of course, she couldn’t go anywhere without another Pokemon attacking her. A sharpedo this time, and not for the first time Ruby regretted that she didn't even have any spare dive balls on her right now. What was it with her and her luck?

Ruby nodded at Doublade, and the twin-bladed Pokemon let out a loud hum, a deep metallic sound and the sharpedo thrashed around in anger and confusion. Ruby took that as her cue to leave, and swam up and out of the ship wreck recalling her Pokemon. Just like one of her mom’s old Clive Cussler novels really! Not that she’d ever _want_ to do that ever again, no sir!

Finding her magikarp and fairly quickly at that thanks to its distinctive sheen, she let it carry her to the surface. Ruby took a deep gasp as she took in sharp gulps of air, the sun shining down upon her.

“Well, that was fun…” Ruby laughed nervously as she swam to shore, the water quickly evaporating off her dive suit in the hot tropical sun. Before she recalled her magikarp, she gave it a quick kiss atop the forehead. Swearing the pokemon must have blushed, she let out a little giggle. Ruby Rose, treasure hunter extraordinaire! Hey, maybe if her journey to the top fell out from under her, she could embark another career, eh?

She could even hear Mr. Briney’s voice in her head, believe it or not. _“Go forth young Miss Rose, let nothing stop you! Not wind, not the seas, nothing! Adventure awaits you!”_

Now, if only she could figure out what it was she’d just found...


	9. 9: Prelude to Battle!

Evening arrived, and the sun began to set over Cianwood casting a deep red glow over the hills and cobblestone streets. The sea breeze slashed straight through the bone, Ruby having bundled herself up in a coat as she walked through the old town. There were still a few hours before she crashed for the night, and really as soon as she woke up she had a gym battle to get to.

So, Ruby took this as a hint to experience a bit of Cianwood before she had to get on the road again back towards Olivine. Oh, she wasn’t looking forward to braving the high seas again, given how many misadventures she’d had just _getting_ here to begin with! 

Thankfully, there was still much to do before she had to brave Mr. Briney’s boat tomorrow, and first and foremost was a bit of prep. Along with some planning for the future, really. After Olivine, well there were still the two toughest gyms ahead and Ruby didn’t want to face them unprepared. 

So that meant only one thing, shop till she dropped. Or at least, shopped until her wallet cried out for mercy. And it would cry out for mercy, given Ruby needed to make a few expensive purchases. Megastones, namely.

So, at the local Pokemart, Ruby found herself forking over the cash for both some Gyaradosite, and some Venusaurite. No walks in the forest necessary. Thankfully, she had some extra cash on hand due to her little deep sea dive. Apparently, she’d found a few interesting things to hand over to the local museum. Upon appraisal of the mysterious shiny object that she’d found however, the appraiser had suddenly gone over all hushed and forked it back over to Ruby without a word. How odd indeed.

“Well, look at what we have here,” a familiar, and an extremely unwanted voice came and Ruby felt a groan rise up from her throat. Really? Did life hate her that much? “Sure you’ve got the money to pay for all of that, Rose?”

“Yes, well, we can’t all be obscenely rich now can we?” Ruby snarked at Weiss, not even turning to face her. _“If I don’t look at her, she’s not real and therefore can’t be here. If I don’t look at her, she’s not real and therefore can’t be here.”_

“Turn and face me, Rose!” Weiss shrieked. “It’s only polite, surely you’ve at least mastered _that_ right?”

“If I do, will you stop shrieking like a crobat?” Ruby deadpanned.

“Why you…” Weiss began to work herself up into a rant, before sighing and taking a deep breath. She _did_ have appearances to keep up after all. “Alright, fine.”

And so Ruby turned to face her, arms crossed and her face in a scowl. “And here I thought you’d be long gone from here by now.”

“Um, yes well, as it turns out, the only cruise to leave from-”

“Of course you’d take a cruise…” Ruby muttered.

“Anyways, as I was saying, as it turns out the only cruise to leave from here to Olivine doesn’t set off for a few more days so…” Weiss sighed. “I’m stuck here. With you, apparently.”

“Joy.” Ruby drawled.

“But, _while_ I’m here, I can make sure you don’t screw the pooch,” Weiss said and deposited some pokedollars in Ruby’s outstretched hand. And in the swear jar they went. “While preparing to fight Chuck!” 

Here, she went around the Poke Mart, frowning as she looked through what they had on offer. Digging some cash out of her purse, she grabbed what looked to be an evolution stone -presumably for Snowpea- and then another stone which she paid for at the cash register.

“Now, way I see it, you’ve got two choices for that little Porygon you love so much,” Weiss said forking over what Ruby now recognized to be an eviolite and something that looked like an upgrade. However, it seemed to spark suspiciously, dubiously even. “One, you keep it as it is, with the eviolite or alternatively…”

“I evolve it,” Ruby said. “Yeah, I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Where’d you even pick up that piece of hardware anyways? I’m not sure you just buy it in any store!”

“I have my sources, Rose,” Weiss remarked. “Now, it’s your choice. Power, or defense! Chuck’s pokemon won’t go down easily, and I doubt you just _have_ something like a Venusaur or a Gyarados just lying around… I mean, presumably you plan to get both of them if those mega stones are any indication!”

“What’s in it for you?” Ruby had to ask, resisting the urge to correct the little Princess and show her that she _did_ in fact have a Venusaur. 

“Actually, nothing,” Weiss shrugged. “You’re already behind me as it is, and I want my rival to be actually _prepared_ the next time we meet! I can’t have her lagging behind me too much after all!”

“So you’re being pragmatic?” Ruby asked.

“I’m being _nice_ Rose,” Weiss returned. “Contrary to popular belief, I can actually be that every once in a while!”

“When it suits you,” Ruby returned as she watched Weiss buy what she thought was some Abomasite. Well, that answered the mystery of what one more of her team was. An ice type, how fitting. “After all, if I choose to evolve Porygon2 and lose that crucial defense…”

“Take it how you will, Rose!” Weiss snorted. “Like it or not, I’m one of your only allies right about now. After all, I don’t see Blake anywhere, do you?”

Ruby snorted. “Oh, this is just hilarious. When you’re my best friend right now, well…”

“Trust me, I don’t like it either,” Weiss admitted. 

“Well, as long as you’re here, maybe you can answer a question of mine…” Ruby started.

“If it’s you being able to be a great trainer, trust me I already know the answer to _that_ so…” Weiss started before Ruby held up the mysterious object she’d found. Weiss’s eyes widened almost comically, and her face went white as a ghost. “Where… where did you get that?”

“Diving, why? I can’t figure out _what_ it is, actually! When I tried to have it appraised, the appraiser pretty much had the same reaction as you!” Ruby said. “Like, wow. I know I’ve seen it somewhere before, but… for the life of me I can’t figure out where!”

“Go look in a library Rose, I’m sure that-” Weiss started before she heard a crash and saw what looked to be a giant pineapple dancing about outside the store in the town square. She facepalmed. “...oh great.”

“Is… is that a ludicolo?” Ruby started, unsure.

“Yeah, mine actually…” Weiss grumbled.

“I’m sorry, _yours_?” Ruby laughed. “You?”

“Yeah yeah, yuck it up, Rose!” Weiss snorted haughtily. “We all have our guilty pleasures.”

“Oh, I just _have_ to see this!” Ruby said as she hurried outside. There was the pineapple-like Pokemon, dancing around the square to a samba beat as Weiss desperately tried to recall it to its ball. Several red flashes later, and Weiss finally gave up.

“Oh, this is not how I should be seen…” she grumbled. 

“Oh, lighten up Weiss,” Ruby said, punching her in the arm much to Weiss’ chagrin. “He’s… fun! You might say… completely ludicrous?”

“Oh haha, Rose, very funny!” Weiss replied sarcastically.

“He wants you to dance!” someone called out. 

“I will not!” Weiss responded before Ruby grabbed her and pulled her into the square. Ludicolo grabbed a pair of maracas as the frantic fever picked up, and much to Weiss’s chagrin… She was forced to suck it up and join in.

“You know I hate you right about now, just want you to know that!” Weiss said as the two danced to the beat, the music becoming slower as Weiss twirled her partner around. “Oh well, at least you can keep in time!”

“Maybe I’m striving to impress you!” Ruby said as she fell into Weiss’s arms.

“Pfft, like you’d ever impress me!” Weiss said before dipping her much to the applause of the crowd. “Where’d you even learn to dance anyways?”

“Blake made sure to teach me a few years ago, before I left on my journey,” Ruby said, spinning away from Weiss. “Not sure why at the time, I don’t remember the reason she gave. Maybe she knew I’d meet someone like you…?”

“Oh hush!” Weiss said though not without a considerable blush on her face. “This isn’t fate, destiny or anything of the kind!”

“What is it then?” Ruby asked, this time being the one to dip _Weiss_.

“Complete and utter nonsense!” Weiss returned. “That’s exactly what it is! Complete and utter nonsense spurned on by a completely ludicrous ludicolo. As soon as this is all over, we go back to hating each other, agreed?”

“I dunno, you’re not so bad,” Ruby replied over the samba whistles and chanting from Ludicolo. “I mean, if you try, you _can_ actually be halfway pleasant!”

“Rumors and nonsense,” Weiss replied. “The only reason I’m being nice is so you don’t lag behind me!”

“Uh-huh,” Ruby said, not believing her for not even a moment. “If this is your plan, get me to hate you, I have to say for a while it was working. Tried desperately not to think of you. But as of right now, it’s falling flat on its face!”

“Oh, don’t you worry, you’ll be hating me again shortly. You’ve still got a devil of a choice to make soon!” Weiss replied. “To evolve or evolve, now that is the question isn’t it?”

The two twirled in the square, neither making sure to let each other go.

“So, the heiress and the champion’s daughter,” Weiss said. “Oooooh, what will the papers say tomorrow?”

“You sound like you want to know…” Ruby teased.

“Well, it is my duty as heiress of the Schnee dynasty to keep up with what the papers say about me!” Weiss replied. “That way, I know what things to laugh at, and what things to quickly have my daddy hush up!”

“You’ve never talked about your dad much, now that I think about it…” Ruby mused. “Something I should know?”

“No, none of your business Rose,” Weiss replied. “So stop sticking your head in it!”

“But what if I like sticking my head into things?” Ruby replied before grinning. “Haven’t you heard, I’m impossibly nosey! It’s part of my charm!”

“More like part of how impossibly annoying you are…” Weiss grumbled as they continued their dance. Ludicolo continued to cheer them on, and to add insult to injury so was Snowpea. The little vulpix gestured to the musicians, and made them make the music just that little bit slower.

“Looks like even your Pokemon agree,” Ruby teased, her hands on Weiss’s waist and Weiss’s hands on her shoulders.. “I’m just that little bit enchanting!”

“...you know, I’m going to have to work harder just to make you hate me again,” Weiss replied. “Because I’m pretty sure I _hate_ this new dynamic of ours!”

“So what, you want us to go back to battling and snarking at each other?” Ruby asked.

“Pretty much yeah, I miss being allowed to bitch at you,” Weiss replied. “And no, I’m not going to have you extort me out of any more money. You’ve done enough damage to my wallet tonight! Because yes, I am that kind of bitch!”

“I was actually getting kinda tired of us snarking at the other,” Ruby admitted. “Rather tiresome actually, especially now that I know you can be actually kinda sweet if you try…”

“Well, don’t expect me to try for very much longer, Rose,” Weiss said in return. “Because I am not a nice woman, and don’t pretend for a moment that I am.”

“Then surely I must have misheard,” Ruby said before breaking out into a near-perfect imitation of Weiss’s voice. “Contrary to popular belief, I can actually be that every once in a while!”

“Damn you Rose,” Weiss grumbled as the music ended, and the two received a round of applause. “Damn you.”

\-----

Ruby wandered the streets in a daze, what she had just done had yet to fully hit her. 

_ “Hello, Earth to Ruby?”  _ Sawsbuck asked, waving a hoof in front of her face, Porygon2 buzzing about in concern.  _ “You alright?” _

“Wha… wait…. Wha…?” Ruby mumbled to herself. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine…” 

_ “You definitely look fine!”  _ Sawsbuck teased noting the somewhat dreamy look on his trainer’s face.  _ “Saw you dancing with Weiss! And here I thought you hated her!” _

“I… I danced with Weiss?” Ruby repeated before it finally settled in. And like a hyper beam to the face, it hit her. “I danced with Weiss!”

_ “Yep, you sure did!”  _ Sawsbuck said.

“I danced with Weiss!” Ruby repeated in a much higher tone of voice, her exclamation barely coming out as little more than a squeak. “No no no no, don’t you understand what this means? I can’t be dancing with Weiss, I hate Weiss! She’s my rival, she’s rude and she’s the devil in human form!”

_ “Oh, I’m sure she’s not  _ **_that_ ** _ bad…”  _ Sawsbuck remarked with a small, but still noticeable little eye roll.  _ “She gave you a free eviolite and a free upgrade for Porygon2 didn’t she? She didn’t have to do that.” _

“No no no, don’t you see?” Ruby stammered out. “That’s her plan, she  _ wants  _ me to evolve Porygon2 and lose it’s already high defense. She doesn’t know it, but Porygon2 already  _ has  _ an eviolite stone! If I toss that out, and trade it for this dubious piece of hardware… I gain power, yeah, but…”

_ “You lose it's tank qualities. Porygon2’s always been your tank, although now you have Venusaur and…”  _ Sawsbuck tried to theorize.  _ “Just saying, maybe it is time to trade up!” _

“Yeah, but….” Ruby said before letting out a groan. “Aaaaaaagggh… This is all so confusing and I hate it and I hate Weiss and I hate tonight!”

She stamped her foot in frustration, crossing her arms. 

“Yeah, sure, Venusaur is enough of a tank already, but if I evolve Porygon2 into Porygon-Z, I lose a tank and quite frankly I have enough crazy with the terrible twosome,” Ruby continued to rant. Sawsbuck looked concerned, he knew his trainer was beginning to spiral. “Like, I don’t know what to do, I’ve got this weird feeling in my gut to accept whatever comes and…”

_ “Breathe, Ruby, remember what we talked about?”  _ Sawsbuck asked.  _ “Breathe. If you want may advice, talk to your mother okay?” _

“Y-Yeah, you’re right, that’s what I should do,” Ruby said after taking a few deep breaths. “Maybe she’s got advice, she can look at this from a different angle right?”

So that’s exactly what she did, and dialed her mother as soon as she got back to the Pokemon Center. And here’s what she had to say.  _ “Personally, Ruby, I think you’re overreacting just a bit. My advice is to just follow your heart, don’t let others dictate your decisions.” _

“Yeah…” Ruby nodded. 

_ “Now, about this Weiss girl,”  _ Summer said.  _ “Forgive me if I sound a bit cliche here, but when are you going to get together?” _

Ruby spat out her drink, spraying the screen.

“I’m sorry, what?” Ruby stammered. “M-Me and Weiss?”

_ “Well, from the sounds of it, there’s  _ **_something_ ** _ there. Maybe it’s a good something, you should try and find out hmm?” _

“Not sure I want to mom,” Ruby admitted. “She’s  _ mean! _ ”

_ “And yet she helped you, even if she didn’t have to,”  _ Summer replied.  _ “If you ask me, she just sounds as if she’s very lonely. Girl like that, with all the wealth and power in the world? I doubt she has many real friends, especially if half of the rumors I’ve heard about Jacques Schnee are true…”  _

“If you say so…” Ruby said, biting her lip. “It’s just… I’m so very confused about what to think of her.”

_ “And that’s only natural at your age. My advice is just stick with her, maybe you’ll find something you like about her or maybe you won’t. There’s really only one way to find out, hmm?” _

Meanwhile, a few rooms over, Weiss had her own problems. In her hand, an icy stone seemingly made of glass and crystal. At the far corner of the room sat Snowpea curled up in her bed.  __

_ “Should I…?” _

You see, Ruby wasn’t the only one having doubts about evolution. Weiss now had a choice to make. At the time, it had seemed so easy to just pick up that ice stone, and say that yes she was going to evolve her prized Pokemon. Now though, now that she had the stone in her hand and had Snowpea in front of her? The choice wasn’t so easy to make, now was it?

Weiss knew what the problem was, it was a little thing called sentiment. Snowpea had been there for her, through thick and thin even when her family didn’t even try to support her. When her father revealed himself to be a monster, when her mother turned to the drink? When Winter left, and Whitley became a miniature clone of his father? Snowpea had been there.

Obviously, Weiss had taught all she could teach Snowpea as a vulpix. Logically, her brain told her, it was time to take the next step and evolve her into a powerful ninetales.

_ “But… what if I don’t want to?”  _ Weiss had to ask herself.  _ “What if, upon evolving Snowpea turns into a completely different Pokemon? Her personality changes so completely that she’s become unrecognizable?” _

Weiss knew it was silly, she really did. And yet… Here she sat hesitantly holding the icy stone in one hand and really not wanting to use it. Should she take the risk, all in exchange for power? Weiss groaned. It was getting late, and she should really sleep on it. Maybe, in the morning, she’d have her answer. For now, into the drawer the evolution stone went.

\-----

Alas, neither trainer would get much sleep, at least not yet as we’ll soon see. For Team Galactic had a plan they needed to enact. Remember the museum I mentioned? Well, thing is, it had quite a few valuable items though cash wasn’t Galactic's main concern. Not with Jacques Schnee backing them. Oh no, they were after something much more important and this museum was the only way to get it.

[ Quickly and quietly the agents ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ILZOie0odw) moved in, Administrator Cinder Fall in the lead. She had no concerns, other than the mission. Only it mattered.

Guards quickly rushed in, training their guns on the team. 

“Madam, what shall we do?” one of the grunts asked.

“Retrieve the item, that is your only concern,” Cinder said. “Leave the rest to me. None must know we were ever here.”

Two Pokemon appeared in flashes of light. One, a Sandslash to take out the security cameras with pin missiles, the quills erupting from the pangolin-style Pokemon’s back. Next, a truly massive dragonic beast marched forwards, bearing his fangs. This was Kommo-o, the infamous scourge of the Alola region. And now it was the scourge of these poor guards, igniting them with a brilliant flame.

Several of the grunts looked disturbed by Cinder’s swift brutality, having left nothing but ash. She was nightmarishly efficient, and none stood in her way. 

“You know, at this rate, someone’s bound to notice us…” one of the grunts muttered.

Another gained an idea, even as he watched Cinder’s Kommo-o stomp around the room. It looked up at what was obviously the skeleton of an aerodactyl, and began jingling the scales on its tail as a warning. Cinder, for her part sighed even as she returned her sandslash to his ball, the ground type having been watching its fellow pokemon warily. 

“What, something on your mind?” the first grunt asked as they entered another room. The skylight let a soft moonlight in, shining down on a truly massive meteorite that was obviously the star attraction. The grunts began rapidly chipping away, knowing the metals that lay inside.

“Well, we’re going to need something to cover our escape right?” the second grunt theorized, using a pick to chip away at the stone. “And there’s clearly fossils in this museum!”

“I like how you think!” the first grunt proclaimed as he realized what his compatriot was thinking.

Smashing open several display cases, they grabbed as many fossils as they could carry. Shoving them into a revitalizer into the next room, they watched the chaos unfold as ancient Pokemon were unleashed upon the world once more. 

“Truly, they spared no expense!” the second grunt said, unable to resist the joke.

“...You’re an idiot,” the first decided before they grabbed as much chipped metal as they could carry. Recalling their own Sandslashes, they beat feet before the awakened fossil pokemon could catch up. They’d only caught glimpses of what they’d awakened, but knew they were powerful specimens indeed! “Now let’s get out of here, I doubt the boss lady likes to be kept waiting!”

“I dunno, I’d certainly wait on her!” the second grunt grinned lavisciously. 

“You want to get burned?” the first asked.

“I guess you could say that yeah…” the second laughed as they returned to the main room. The shrieks and roars of the revitalized pokemon echoed behind them, along with the sound of crashing.

“Now what kept you…” Cinder started before an Armaldo crashed through the wall. It roared to the heavens, even as it tore down a banner that, fittingly stated something about when Pokemon ruled the earth. She nodded approvingly at the two grunts, resisting the urge to laugh at the rapidly unfolding chaos. This would keep the police busy, for sure! “Mhmm, not bad! Maybe you two are worth something after all!”

“You hear that? She thinks I’m worth something!” the second grunt said to his friend with an eager little giggle.

“Shut up, you perv. You’re pathetic, she thinks we’re both worth something,” the first said resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Now let’s get out of here!”

And so, by blimp, they vanished into the night while Cianwood City awoke to the sounds of ancient powers unleashed…

\-----

Ruby awoke to the sounds of screams, and throwing on a robe she pulled the curtains open and rushed outside onto the balcony. Looking down into the streets, she saw anorith crawling past the Pokemon Center. “Oh boy…”

But… but anorith were supposed to be extinct right? Looking to the rising flames from the Cianwood Museum up the road, she quickly realized what must have happened. 

Grabbing her bag, pokeballs inside, she quickly kicked down Weiss’s door.

“HEY!” the Schnee Heiress shrieked. “I need my beauty sleep he… wait, what’s going on, why is there screaming outside?” she asked slowly realizing that  _ something  _ was going on.

“You ever seen Pokemon Park?” Ruby deadpanned. “Congratulations, you’re living it live now!”

Weiss’ eyes widened before she let out a scream as an archen landed outside her window and began pecking. Almost like it was trying to get in.

“O-Okay!” Weiss whispered, throwing on her bathrobe and then her coat. “But just this once I’m helping you, and only because I don’t want to become dino dinner!”

[ Rushing down to the lobby, ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Jb_1-63fc) they found a group of multiple archens trying to smash their way in. Weiss let out a little squeak of terror, before finding her resolve. Expanding a Pokeball, she tossed it, and out came the dancing hombre that was ludicolo. Pointing at the dinosaurs, Weiss roared: “Ludicolo, give them a taste of your water gun!”

Ludicolo began beating his chest, then threw back his head and water erupted from his bill. Spraying a stream of water like a laser, it sliced through the glass doors -sending glass shards everywhere- and blasted the rock types off their feet. Another blast of the water gun knocked them out, and Ludicolo began dancing like a ludicrous loon all over again. The Carefree Pokémon began reveling in his victory, Weiss was decidedly not. She murmured: “More where those came from, right?”

“That’s a sucker’s bet and you know I’m not taking it!” Ruby snorted as they rushed outside only to find mass chaos, as various other living fossils took to the streets. More archen roosted atop lamp posts, or attempted to fly away with police officers who were trying desperately to fight them off. Meanwhile, anorith took to the seas and forced other Pokemon out of their dens.

“You kids better get out of here!” said Officer Jenny as her growlithe tossed a flamethrower in some anoriths direction sending them scattering for cover. “This is a bit beyond you, I think!”

“No way, you need help!” Weiss said, literally kicking away another anorith. “Ludicolo, show those pests who’s boss! Teeter Dance, and then follow up with Drain Punch!”

Ludicolo began to tilt back and forth, almost as if it was drunk and some anorith and archen followed it as if hypnotized. Some fell over in their confusion before the remaining ones were taken down by what came next. Ludicolo smashed a fist into the earth, absorbing all of his opposition’s energy.

“...okay, now I see why you keep him around…” Ruby whispered in awe.

“Guilty pleasures, Rose,” Weiss smirked haughtily as she recalled her dancing buffoon of a Pokemon. “Guilty pleasures!”

A shriek came, and from out of the night sky swooped down an archeops clearly pissed off about his flock being defeated. Weiss didn’t have a chance to react in time, but Ruby did and from out of her Pokeball in a flash of white light erupted Kerberos with his paws glowing. A right hook, and then a left as he used Beat Up on the First Bird Pokémon, bringing it down.

“T-Thanks, Rose,” Weiss admitted, rather shook up from being nearly carried away. “No, seriously, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, it’s what I’d do for a friend,” Ruby said, recalling Kerberos to his ball and summoning Polygon2 instead. 

“F-Friend?” Weiss asked. “You actually consider me a friend, even after how horribly I’ve been treating you?”

“You look like you need one, really…” Ruby said.

“Oh, so this is a friendship out of pity then?” Weiss snorted. “Go screw yourself Rose, I decline!”

“Oh well, I try to be nice…” Ruby muttered, throwing a Pokeball to catch the fallen Archeops. It flew into Ruby’s pokeball in a flash of red light. Then it burst out, and with an angry screech took back to the skies. Oh well, Ruby sighed to herself. You couldn’t catch them all, she supposed. A roar from another sidestreet caught their attention, and both shared a look. Neither wanted to be around when the roar’s owner showed up!

The two ran, eager to get out of there. Neither dared to look behind them, which was probably a good thing as the roar just got even louder. 

“Wait, where are we running to?” Weiss had to ask.

“Anywhere but there!” Ruby shouted as they heard the sound of crashing behind them. “I don’t want to stick around and find out who exactly that roar belongs to!”

“Agreed, back there looks miserable, but then again…” Weiss started as she screeched to a halt, several kabutops blocking their path. Their sickle arms shined devilishly in the moonlight. “Up ahead just looks equally terrible!”

“There’s no way we’re going to be fighting off all of these Pokemon at once!” Ruby shouted.

“You got a plan, because if so I’d love to hear it!” Weiss returned as the kabutops marched towards them. “Because I really don’t want to end up looking like freshly sliced salami!”

Ruby looked around her, and then she spotted a massive fisherman’s net and an idea hit her like a bolt of lightning.

Looking at Porygon2, the little virtual duck understood immediately and flew off to. Ripping the net away from the boat crane, seaking splattered to the floor forgotten. Suddenly Weiss realized what her fellow trainer was planning, and tossed a Pokeball as a tailow flew out of the light with a caw. Grabbing another end of the net in its mouth, the Tiny Swallow Pokémon helped Porygon2 wrap the net around the rock-types. Try as they might they couldn’t cut it open.

At least, not yet. It wasn’t until they were over the waters, and with a white glow the tailow evolved into a swellow that they finally cut themselves free. With a splash, they sunk to the bottom. Ruby and Weiss high fived, and did a little dance in their euphoria. 

“You’re… you’re not bad Rose,” Weiss admitted. “Guess you’re not as dumb as I thought you were!”

“I’m sorry, but was that a compliment?” Ruby snarked.

“Oh hush,” Weiss said. “I can give those as well, especially when I think you’ve deserved them. But what I want to know is, what’s actually going on here? Where’d all those things come from?”

Here, again she kicked an anorith away sending it smacking into a lamp post.

“Awwwww Weiss, don’t be mean!” Ruby whined childishly. “I think he actually likes you!”

“Yeah, well, sadly for him the feeling’s not exactly mutual,” Weiss huffed, crossing her arms. “I hate bugs!”

“Oh, I dunno, they’re not so bad…” Ruby muttered. “But yeah, I’m beginning to wonder the same thing myself. Where these pokemon came from, I mean.”

“Beginning to?” Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow as they realized their work wasn’t over. They still had a few more pokemon to help round up. 

“I’ve had other concerns on my mind, really!” Ruby returned as both Swellow and Porygon2 grabbed another massive fisherman’s net and used it to scoop up a massive collection of archen. However, it was obvious the two were struggling due to a combination of the rock types’ weight and the archen just thrashing about.

“You know, if you evolved your precious Porygon2 maybe you wouldn’t have this problem…” Weiss suggested in none too subtle fashion.

“Weiss, if I want to evolve him I will!” Ruby returned as she had Kerberos blast the thrashing archen with a flamethrower just to get them to calm down. “But until then… when I make my decision you’ll be the first to know!”

And into a nearby dumpster the knocked out archen went. 

“Taking out the trash,  _ yeeeeeeaeaaaahhh… _ ” Ruby said, doing a little fist pump, before low fiving Weiss. 

“You’re an idiot, Rose,” Weiss said before sighing. “But you’re my kind of idiot really!”

It was about that time they learned what or rather who made the roar from before. A truly massive Rampardos smashed through a wall, looking pissed off beyond all reason. 

“...so, you want to handle this one, or should I?” Weiss asked looking at Ruby nervously. Then they looked back at Rampardos. The Head Butt Pokémon pawed at the ground, like an angry tauros before it charged as if someone had waved a red flag.

Both girls dived out of its way as it smashed through a statue of an anchor.

“Together then?” Ruby said to Weiss, and the white-haired heiress nodded. 

Rampardos, an A-Class Pokemon now rendered infamous for its humongous power and its terrible temper. If not trained correctly, these Pokemon were well known for smashing up sections of town just for a start. And this one seemed intent on keeping the species reputation as it charged up a powerful hyper beam.

The magnificent orange blast cleaved off rooftops, shingles and wood splinters flying everywhere 

Ludicolo appeared in a flash, anxious to protect his trainer and in one wide swing slammed into the rampaging pokemon with a Brick Break attack. The dinosaur staggered before it was blinded with a Mud Shot. It staggered about, desperately trying to rip the mud off with its tiny arms. Kerberos appeared and lit it up with a flamethrower. Rampardos roared in anger and in rage, before it used Smack Down on both pokemon taking them out of the fight. 

Nervously, both Weiss and Ruby recalled their unconscious Pokemon and shared an anxious look. Such power… 

Frighteningly, Rampardos began charging up a thunderbolt to shut the two girls down. Then, from out of the darkness…   
  
“Hey now, that’s enough of that!” roared Chuck, as his breloom slammed into the Rampardos with a mighty Headbutt attack. The living fossil was knocked off balance, its thunderbolt flying wide. 

Breloom backflipped to the pavement, light springy footwork keeping it from being hit as like a boxer it delivered lightning-fast punches. Mach Punch after Mach Punch came before Breloom finished the job with a Focus Blast. The energy blast slammed into the Head Butt Pokémon, and Rampardos toppled to the pavement with a loud crashing  **_THUD!_ **

“Well, he wasn’t so tough now was he?” Chuck laughed uproariously -capturing Rampardos inside a ball- before he was tackled by Ruby in a bear-crushing hug. “Woah now, I know I’m awesome but…”

“Thank you…” Ruby whispered while Weiss was more calm and composed about the whole ordeal.

“I give you my thanks for saving my life,” she curtsied before getting out her purse. “Now how much do I need to pay you?”

“No payment necessary, young Miss Schnee,” Chuck said before realizing something. “Hey wait, what are you even still doing in Cianwood? You beat me days ago! Shouldn’t you be…”

“Cruise ship,” both Ruby and Weiss said in unison. “Doesn’t leave for a few more days.”

“Well, this has been a devil of a night!” Chuck muttered. “Damn Team Galactic deciding to break into the local museum and ruin everyone’s night!”

“I’m sorry, but did you say Team Galactic?” Weiss inquired. “I thought they were…”

“Disbanded?” Chuck said. “So did everyone else, but apparently not. The only reason we know that they were here was because someone spotted a blimp with their logo on it. Otherwise, they made a clean getaway, we don’t even know what they took yet. If anything.”

“What makes you think they took something?” Weiss asked.

“Well, obviously!” Ruby said. “They wouldn’t risk being spotted just to cause chaos by reviving a few old fossils! In the morning, I’m contacting my mom. She needs to know about this!”

“And who might your mother be?” Chuck inquired.

“Summer Rose, former Champion of Galar!” Ruby replied and at this Chuck slapped his face in recognition.

“Of course, your mom told me you were coming and said to prepare the gym for your arrival!” he said and at this Ruby blushed an interesting shade of red, shuffling her feet nervously. “Well, in the morning, Miss Rose, after we all have a good night’s sleep I shall be expecting you!”

“Yeah, a… a good night’s sleep, yeah that sounds good,” Ruby murmured as her tired state finally caught up to her. She began to fall forwards, muttering: “I’m going to go buh-bye now. Night night…”

Weiss caught her, and with a fond little smile, muttered: “Idiot.”

\-----

Morning came and with it a bright and early… Okay, not just morning, Ruby had elected to sleep in very late and it was already way past lunchtime by the time she arose from her slumber. The previous night’s events had taken a lot out of her, perhaps needless to say.

Ruby found herself gazing upon the dubious disk, and then at Porygon2 who sat in the sunny window like an actual bird would.

Weiss found herself similarly waking up much too late and then gazing at the ice stone and then at Snowpea.

Both had similar thoughts running through their heads. To evolve or not to evolve was the question of the hour. Could they, should they, would they? Did they have the right to force evolution, and change their pokemon entirely? Once they did this, there was no going back…

Both steeled themselves, and both grabbed their evolution objects as they headed towards their Pokemon. Both had made up their minds. Unknowingly, they even thought similar thoughts.

“No hesitation…” Ruby and Weiss both breathed out, knowing what to do. And then, they acted upon their respective decisions. 

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, don't you just love cliffhangers? 
> 
> Yes, that dance in the town square was my version of the Catradora moment at Princess Prom. And Noelle actually thought she was being subtle with that... 
> 
> And here is where I finally break my catch a new pokemon a chapter streak. Originally both Rampardos and that archeops were planned to be captured, but I decided Ruby had enough Pokemon for me as a writer to handle. So, archeops escaped and Rampardos got caught by Chuck. Hoo boy, writing this chapter was a fun one, as it was basically one long brawl while I dealt with a nasty canker sore. Fuuuuunnnn... But as I'm so behind on my writing, couldn't let that stop me!
> 
> Next time, Weiss and Ruby finally have it out once more...


	10. 10: Showdown in Cianwood!

Gossip always had a way to travel fast, Weiss found. For better or for worse, anyone would soon know what everyone else was doing* by simple word of mouth.  
  
...and that meant her little moment with Ruby Rose, the apparently not-so-insufferable-anymore little girl, would soon make its way to her father. It’d be all over the place within the week. That little moment they’d shared, it’d be reaching her father pretty shortly.

 _“That… man,”_ said Snowpea, sounding like she’d been searching for some other word to use instead. Something far less polite. _“He’s completely insufferable. Forcing you to bow to his whims like this. Controlling your life!”_

She glided gently across the ground, every pawstep leaving behind a patch of ice. The air was just a bit chillier around her now, her nine tails gently swaying in the island breeze. She’d finally blossomed into the perfect flower, her majesty now fully on display like Weiss always knew it could be. Forget being the perfect Princess, she was now a _Queen_. 

“Yes, well, that’s father for you,” Weiss sighed sadly, adjusting Snowpea’s collar. Hanging from it was a small glass orb, and inside that orb something the local shopkeeper had thusly called ‘Never Melt Ice’ crafted from only the finest of icebergs. “That describes his approach to parenting pretty well, actually! If something doesn’t fit, hit it back into place.”

 _“...he never…”_ Snowpea trailed off, looking at her in concern. _“...Weiss, please tell me he didn’t…?”_

“Not where anyone could see, no,” Weiss replied. “He’d always cover it up with make up, and make sure nobody could ever tell. That basically describes everything about this ‘family’ of ours really.” 

She spat out the word, before choking back a bitter laugh.

“Make sure everything is pretty and pristine on the outside, cover it up with makeup,” Weiss continued. “Craft the perfect illusion of the ‘perfect family.’ ...as if there’s ever such a thing!”

Behind her, she heard the thud of something suitably heavy hitting the ground. Weiss turned, and saw Ruby, eyes wide in shock and mouth gaping in horror. On the ground beside her was her bag, fallen into the dirt with a collection of pokeballs spilling out into the street. A Storm Badge was noticeably now pinned to her bag. Weiss, at any other occasion, would have smiled in approval and pride.

“...oh, you heard that didn’t you?” Weiss commented, desperately trying to mask her fear and her shame. She was probably failing. “Pretend you didn’t, okay?”

She was nearly tackled to the ground by a sobbing mess of black hair. Ruby whimpered into her side, her words barely audible. Barely understandable through her wet, messy cries. Awkwardly, and not really sure what to do, Weiss put her arms around her.

“...you should have told me,” Ruby choked back another sob, looking up at Weiss. Her eyes were red, and snot dripped from her nose. It was a truly pathetic, pitiable sight. “I… I could have helped you!”

“What’s to do?” Weiss scoffed. “You couldn’t change anything, my father? He’s got power, he’s got money, and nobody would believe you. Or believe me. He’s hidden his true nature so well by this point…”

“That doesn’t mean you should have to suffer!” Ruby told her. “If you told me earlier…”

“You would have… what, contacted your mother?” Weiss scoffed. “Puh-leeze! Not even she could help!”

“You don’t know that, it’s worth a shot right?” Ruby questioned, with Snowpea wiping away her tears with one of her tails. “You’ve given up, doesn’t mean the rest of us should. Hey, I’ll talk to mom, I’ll see what…”  
  
Weiss shoved her away. 

“...what she could do?” Weiss asked. “Didn’t I just tell you? My father… he’s impossibly powerful! Former champion or not, your mother… it’s best if you don’t try. If the police even got _near_ my house, Rose? My father would know at once who’s responsible!”

“So what, you’re just going to give up?” Ruby asked, their yelling probably starting to attract attention from the people around them. Weiss wisely, reading the crowd pulled her into an alleyway. Yeah, it’d get people talking about their ‘relationship’ but it was better than airing her family’s dirty laundry in public!

“It’s fruitless to try, Rose,” Weiss hissed, shoving the girl up against a wall. ...yeeeeah, that probably didn’t help anyone’s perception of their relationship but so what? Weiss was past the point of caring right now. Pressing a finger to Ruby’s lips, she shushed her. “Go on about your life, forget about trying to help me. Get to the Silver Plateau. Worry about becoming the best trainer in the world, not…”

“...you?” Ruby finished the sentence. “Of course I’ll always worry about you. I don’t know when it happened, or _why_ even, but somewhere along the way… I guess we’re friends now?” she shrugged, not really sure herself.

“But why?” Weiss asked numbly. “I’ve been so terrible to you!”

“Yeah, true,” Ruby replied and Weiss hung her head in shame. “But I’ve been a bit on the terrible side as well, and I’ve been a pain in the butt as well! Like, never on task, constantly losing focus… You’ve had every right to be mad at me!”

“Got that right,” Weiss muttered. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that right Ro… Ruby?” she said, swiftly correcting herself.

“Soooooooo…” Ruby said sticking her hand out. “I promise from here forth to be a good friend, and proper rival to you! And as a good friend, I promise you that I will not let your father’s abuse stand!”

“D-D-Didn’t you just hear me?” Weiss sputtered. “Did you not just hear any of what I just said? You can’t help me!”  
  
“And the more you deny it, the more you make me want to help you,” Ruby replied, her face one of pleading. “So stop pushing me away, please! I just want to help!”

“Your idealism, Ruby… Arceus, it’s almost inspiring. On anyone else, it might just work,” Weiss replied with a sigh. “But me? Oh no! I’ve been around the block one too many times, I know how life works. Spoiler alert, it sucks! Your desire to help me is admirable, but really quite impossible to achieve.”

“We’ll see…” Ruby muttered even as Weiss’ X-Transceiver gave out a little ring. 

“...speak of the devil,” Weiss grumbled before making a little ‘shoo’ motion and Ruby, however reluctantly, took a few steps back. She heard her friend speak into the device, her tone neutral as she said: “Hello father.”  
  
 _“How goes the journey?”_ Jacques asked. _“You’re not doddling are you? You really must get moving, the Silver Conference is calling.”_

“I’m just finishing up here in Cianwood City, father,” Weiss said, her face an impassive mask. No emotion was allowed to leak through. “There is no ‘doddling’ as you put it. I am on task, and I plan to stay that way.”

 _“Interesting,”_ replied Jacques. _“Because I heard reports of you spending time with the Rose Heiress. Admirable really, with you planning to expand our empire into Galar like that. Making an alliance with the daughter of the former champion? It could open up some new and fantastic ventures for us as a company.”_

Weiss had to resist the urge to grind her teeth, Snowpea rubbing up against her comfortingly. Was that all her father cared about? Ruby was a friend, maybe an annoying one but all the same! And yet where she saw the possibility of her first real friend, he saw only a possible business venture. She wasn’t even sure why she was surprised anymore.

 _“We are not dating, father,”_ Weiss replied. _“We are only traveling companions. Acquaintances at best.”_

 _“That’s not what a lot of people are saying,”_ Jacques replied. _“You two seemed… close last night, almost intimate in nature. If you two were merely acquaintances, I doubt I would call you. I would suggest you drop your frivolity though, and hurry on back to Olivine City. Chop chop, as I believe is the saying!”_

With that, he dropped the call.

“He’s so mean!” Ruby gaped, utterly stunned by the Schnee Patriarch's behavior. “He… he sees you, us, whatever as only a business proposition! He doesn’t even see me as a human being!”

“No duh,” Weiss drawled. “That is my father for you. ...well, at least he’s no homophobic, I half-expect him to be. But then I remember he would piss off a lot of potential partners if he showed any outward disgust towards female/female relationships. No, he only sees ventures, where I see… possibilities.”

“Possibilities?” Ruby questioned nervously, face flushing red. “What… what do you mean?” 

“Never you mind!” Weiss said huffily, already wanting to change the subject. “You’ll miss the ferry, you know! I’d suggest you get a move on!” she ‘suggested’.

“Oh no, I’m staying here for another day,” Ruby replied. “There’s this big competition going on! Haven’t you seen the posters all over town? The Seadra Races?”

“But… Ruby Rose!” Weiss stamped her foot. “Don’t you think you’ll fall behind? You can’t doddle along at your own pace anymore! The Silver Conference is coming up fast!”

“Relax! Yes, it’s coming, but I can’t always be worried about it every night and day, I gotta take it easy, y’know? I got this in the bag, I’m easily distractible, I admit, but don’t worry, I think I got it figured out!” Ruby winked at her. 

“Ruby…” Weiss groaned. “But what if you miss it?”  
  
“I won’t,” Ruby smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t you worry about me!”

“But… but I am worried!” Weiss stammered out in admittance. “What if you miss your chance to be the best that ever was? That’s what you want right?”

“Eh, if I do, there’s always next year right?” Ruby shrugged. “Truth be told, this was just an excuse to get away from Patch, see the world really. I just wanted to see what was out there honestly!”

“You’re insufferable! Absolutely intolerable!” Weiss groaned again. “Oh well, it’s not like you’re like me. It’s not like your mother will force you to be a coordinator if you don’t win the League…”

Too late, she’d realized she’d said too much.

“Weiss…” Ruby whispered, teary eyed. “Is that… tell me! Is that your father said he’d do if you don’t make it to the League?”  
  
Weiss said nothing, but she didn’t need to. Her silence said volumes.

“...Oh god,” Ruby said, her voice still a horrified whisper. “He’s horrible! Why didn’t you tell anyone? Blake, or me! Either of us… We would have helped!”

“Doubtful,” Weiss said, shuffling her feet. “My father…”

“He’s wealthy, and he’s powerful, I know. But we could have at least invoked the court of public opinion! It ruins people like him!” Ruby replied. 

“N-No, don’t…” Weiss replied, sounding terrified. “Don’t stir the pot, don’t tread the waters. Don’t cause trouble…”  
  
It sounded recorded, like something she’d repeat on reflex. And then, Ruby realized with no small amount of horror, it probably _was_.

 _“There’s no shame in letting her help,”_ Snowpea said to her trainer. _“She probably can… You’ve never had to shoulder this alone, Mistress!”_

One dirty look, and Snowpea silenced herself. 

“Alright, that tears it!” Ruby snapped, sounding an awfully lot like her mother. “You and me? We’re sticking together, damn your father!”

She was so mad that, indeed, she was forgoing her normal hatred of swearing. “Weiss! I challenge you to a race!”  
  
“A race?” Weiss asked, dumbly. 

“Yeah! You and me? We’re going to participate in the Seadra Race, tomorrow, and if you win? You go on about your journey, I forget whatever I heard about your father. But if _I_ win? Well, you’ll be listening to me, and you’ll be telling mom about _everything_ okay?”

“There’s no stopping you, is there?” Weiss realized.

“Nope!” said Ruby, popping the P. “I _promise_ to help you, and you’re either going to have to stop me or just stand down and let me help you! So, do we have a deal?”  
  
She stuck out her hand again.

“Fine… as long as it’ll shut you up…” Weiss sighed, resigned to her fate and shook her friend’s hand. “A deal’s a deal, but remember if I win? You forget everything you ever heard.”  
  
“Oh, but that’s the thing,” Ruby smirked. “I _never_ go down without a fight!”

\-----

The sun shone down, nice and warm as it rose in the sky that next morning rising up over the islands to bathe them in warm rays. You could feel the sheer tension in the air, like the skies crackling before a thunderstorm over the great plains. 

The prestigious race took place every year in the Whirl Islands, their pride and joy. To the winner went the spoils, all the Pokedollars they could ever need for a couple years. But Ruby didn’t care about any of that, she had plenty of money anyways. No, something far more important was on the line!  
  
 _“Last chance to back out…”_ said Zwei. _“Not that I doubt you, quite the opposite in fact. But are you sure this is the right way to handle this? You’ve never rode a Seadra Chariot before!”_

“Oh relax!” Ruby waved him off. “Easy to learn! Piece of cake really, and soon me and Weiss will be having Vanilluxe Sundaes at a cafe and discussing business before the day is out! Her father will rue the day he ever heard the name Ruby Rose!”

Slamming a fist into her open palm, she grinned.

“I never go back on my friends, and I never go back on my word either!”

 _“...I thought rue was only in gravy…”_ Toil muttered, his brother smacking him over the head.

 _“Idiot!”_ he replied. 

_“It’s admirable, the lengths you’ll go to. All to protect your pack,”_ said Kerberos. _“I knew I made the right choice, submitting to you as I did.”_

“Please don’t say ‘submitting’,” Ruby laughed nervously. “It makes me feel as if I’m your master. We’re equals, you know. Friends. Partners! Not… master and slave, ewww!”

Then walked up Snowpea. Her Never Melting Ice shone brilliantly in the sun, sparkling in its light. 

_“I really have to thank you, you know,”_ said the arctic fox. _“Weiss is… unfortunately rather stubborn. Her father beat it into her, to never accept help and handle things her own way. From one trainer’s Pokemon to another, I’m truly sorry that you had to get caught up in this.”_

“What, and leave poor Weiss to suffer in silence?” Ruby gaped in horror. “Never! She’s my friend, and even if she wasn’t, nobody deserves to be under the thumb of that… that…”  
  
She searched for the right word.

 _“Bastard?”_ Snowpea finished helpfully.

“Exactly!” Ruby grumbled, not even bothering to chastise her for the swearing. 

_“Again,”_ said Snowpea, her eyes growing watery with icy tears that seemed to freeze as soon as they appeared. _“I can never truly thank you.”_

 _“Well!”_ Zwei said. _“I wouldn’t thank my trainer just yet. She hasn’t won the race! Weiss could still beat her!”_

 _“Somehow…”_ Snowpea trailed off. _“I honestly doubt that’s what will happen…”_

 _“Don’t worry,”_ Zwei smiled at her. _“I believe, just as you believe, that my trainer can do this. When the chips are down, she always cashes in!”_

 _“Puns…”_ Snowpea replied with a faint note of disgust, masked with amusement. Or perhaps it was the other way ‘round. Who could truly tell? _“The lowest form of humor!”_

“Prepare to lose,” Weiss said a few minutes later, stepping into her twin Seadra pulled chariot. 

Ruby, somewhat childishly, stuck out her tongue at her. Retracting it, her eyes narrowed in determination. “We’ll see. I told you, I will never give up! And I’m not about to start now!”

[ They were off with the bang of a gun, ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hwiCkU73NA) Weiss rocketing ahead almost immediately. Ruby, meanwhile, was still wrangling control of her Seadra. The Dragon Pokémon fought for control, trying to show her that they were the master and she the student. But Ruby was having none of it.

“Come on, I’m only trying to win one race!” Ruby snarled. “Just work with me!”

Zwei, Snowpea and Kerberos ran along the side of the pier, watching their twin trainers race off just out of sight. Eyes wide in concern, Zwei tracked the chariots as they left the harbor towards Silver Rock Isle.

Meanwhile, the announcer commented on everything.

“Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd they’re off!” he thundered. “My my folks, we’re in for a rare treat today! **The** Ruby Rose, daughter of the famous Summer Rose, and Weiss Schnee herself! However, oh it seems that Miss Rose isn’t in control of her Pokemon! Ooooh, this could spell disaster for her shortly, unless she gets them under control! Could she be out of the race this early? If she doesn’t work out her troubles, she’ll be in the sea soon!”

Meanwhile, all was smooth sailing for Weiss. Looking behind her, she sighed in disappointment as Ruby was pulled away from the race course by her Pokemon. The Seadra were just too much for her, it seemed! _“Oh well, it was too much to hope for that she could do everything I suppose… Onwards to victory, Weiss!”_

And yet it hardly felt like such a thing…

“Oooooh, bad luck for Miss Rose!” roared the announcer. “It seems Weiss will be winning this race! A champion of the gym circuit, she’s a fast favorite for the Silver Conference! And it seems she’s just as skilled at racing the mighty Seadra! Her family would be proud!”:

Weiss doubted that very much.

Ruby meanwhile, had finally managed to wrangle control over her Seadra. Rocketing around a corner, she spotted Weiss through some palm trees. Cracking the reigns of her horses, she willed them to jump over a sand bar and back on course. 

“Hahaha!” Ruby laughed in glee, grinning at a very surprised Weiss. “Told you I could do this!”

“Don’t get too cocky, Ruby,” Weiss advised. “There’s still miles to go, and plenty could happen between then and there!”

And watching from the shore of Silver Rock was a figure. Interested, it eyed Ruby with what could pass for an impressed smile. Maybe she was worth further investigation…

Around another corner they went, water kicked up behind them in a spray and shining in the early afternoon’s sun. Like a hurricane, Ruby came upon Weiss’ chariot in a torrent.

“I think not!” Weiss declared. “Time to shut you down for good, Ruby! Seadra, Flash Cannon now!”  
  
There was a bright bolt of light, and water erupted all around Ruby like mines underneath the sea. Weiss’ Seadra kept on firing off bolts of energy, towering pillars of water exploding all around the Galar-native girl.

“Endure it, you two!” Ruby thought fast, her Seadra turning hard as steel in shades of platinum. Shining in the sun, they grew no heavier despite their new tint and kept up their speed. Overhead, a helicopter reported back on everything going on.

“Wow! What’s this?” the announcer asked. “Seems Weiss and Ruby have stepped their game up a notch! Attacks are flying right and left! Ooooh, it seems these two won’t give up on their rivalry that easily! Be careful out there racers, it’s become apparent that the Rose and the Snowdrop have a score to settle!”

Back at Cianwood, nestled in the bays of Blue Point Island, the two’s Pokemon listened to the proceedings. A massive jumbotron had been set up, displaying all like some uncaring god. It took no side but of the crowd’s. _“....Leave it to those two to take things overboard,”_ Zwei sweatdropped. _“I know this kind of thing has been building for a while now but really?”_

 _“Well, let us hope that neither knocks the other one overboard!”_ Snowpea commented, her white fur gently blowing in the sea breeze. _“I swear, they are both such children at times. Let us be glad Ruby decided to settle this in this way, instead of a Pokemon battle. I doubt Cianwood would be left standing afterwards!”_

 _“...and yet they’re blowing apart the sea anyways!”_ put in Zwei. _“We traded the cobblestone streets for the ocean’s waves.”_

“Princess Powder Snow here won’t take us down so easily! I have a promise to keep, count on it!”

“P-Princess Powder Snow?” Weiss stammered out, offended. “Ooooohh, Rose! You really want to tick me off don’t you?”  
  
“What’s in a name?” Ruby replied with a little shrug of her shoulders, before cracking the reigns to urge her pokemon forwards. The crack resounded through the air, like a thunderbolt in the blue sky. Water erupted from behind the youngest Rose’s chariot, like an explosion. “Oh, does it _bother_ you Princess Powder Snow? Fine, I’ll keep calling you that! Princess Powder Snow! Princess Powder Snow!”

“You’re such a child!” Weiss snapped back at her, and ordered her Seadra to fire off another Flash Cannon.

Ruby’s chariot sunk backwards, creeping behind the explosions before an idea struck her. Slapping on a breathing mask, Ruby gestured downwards and down they went. Her two seadra had snuck below the waves, vanishing from sight.

“What the…?” Weiss gaped in shock. 

“Ho ho ho~! Oh wow! I didn’t expect that ladies and gentleman!” said the announcer as the crowd sucked in their breath. “Darling it's better, down where it's wetter take it from me as Miss Rose has gone down under the sea!”

Weiss frantically searched right and left, not even sure where her longtime rival had actually gone. And then, the seas exploded as over her head went Ruby, using a rock as a ramp and racing up it, leapfrogging over her opponents.

“Such daring, wow! Miss Rose is not one to be predictable, that’s for sure!”

And there she went, rocketing ahead and into a sea cave that marked the next section of the course. On the other side of the cave was Kasado City, carved into the island faces and a city of waterways, not unlike Altomare on the other side of the region.

Ruby carved her path through the city’s waterways, the crowd roaring in approval as they saw the racers surge through their city. Some stood a little too close to the waterway, and were soaked to the bone by the tidal spray. Weiss was alongside her now, her seadra galloping through the waters, their shell-themed chariots creating clashing sparks as they ground together.

“Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, Rose!” declared she. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting you to get this far. I was hoping you’d sink, or your chariot would get beached! The less I have to see of your stupid face, the better!”

“I just want to help you Weiss!” Ruby cried back at her. “Why you’re so stubborn, I don’t know, but I’m here for you!”

“You don’t need to get involved, Ruby!” Weiss said as they rounded a corner heading for the bay. “I can handle things all on my own!”

“But you don’t need to!” Ruby shot back, her eyes brimming with tears. “You keep on pushing people away, when all they want to do is help you! Blake… Me… your Pokemon! We’re your friends!”  
  
“Shut up!” Weiss said in turn. “I don’t need friends, all I need to do is win the Silver Conference and then my father will accept me!”

“...but what if he doesn’t?” Ruby asked.

“Shut up! He will, he has to! He must!” Weiss said, and if one looked close they could see she was wiping away tears of her own. Fighting them back, she pointed forwards, ordering her Seadra with a cry of: “Flash Cannon again!”

Blowing Ruby’s chariot forwards, it was knocked out of one waterway and over a bridge it sailed. With a crash and a splash of water, it slammed into an opposing waterway, running alongside the one Weiss was currently racing in before it branched off. Deeper into the city it delved, and Ruby knew it.

“Darn it Weiss…” she nearly whined. “I’m only trying to help you, so why do you keep being so stubborn?”

Cracking her seadras’ reigns again, she narrowed her eyes. Fine then! If that’s how she wanted to play it…

“Ooooooh, crafty move from Weiss there!” echoed the announcer. Ruby laughed nervously, yeah sure. Crafty! That was one way to put it. “And now Miss Rose has to navigate the maze of waterways before her! Oooooh, this could be it, if she doesn’t work out how to get out of the city and fast..."

Ruby just chose to blast through anything that got in her way, her Seadra belting out Water Pulse after Water Pulse. Nothing was going to stop her. If Weiss insisted on being this stubborn, well! She was about to learn the hard way that she was just as equally stubborn.

Finally, Ruby spotted a way out of the city-hugging corridors, but there was a problem. A mess of boats had gathered in front of her, tied to the piers. Then, she spotted a wooden platform hanging from a crane. Barking orders to her steeds, she watched as the panel came down, the rope easily snapping free from another Water Pulse.

And over the top she went, her chariot gliding over the edge of the platform using it as a ramp. And with another terrific splash, Ruby was back in the race. Honestly, she would admit to enjoying the look of bug-eyed shock that was on her rival’s face.

“She’s not down and out yet folks!” said the announcer, with Zwei, Kerberos and Snowpea all breathing sighs of relief. “No, Miss Rose came back with a vengeance! This is where things get interestin’ now folks!”

Which was true as the next destination, Yellow Rock Isle, brought out actual obstacles. Loudred, strategically placed atop cliffs yelled, shouted, and screamed. 

Down came rocks, falling atop the racers heads and splashing all around them. The seadra all whinnied nervously, some throwing their racers off. Ruby watched with nervous eyes as rocks fell all around her, coming down into exploding waters. The seas ruptured, spraying cold water in her face and ruining visibility. Which, perhaps needless to say, was a bad thing.

Weiss didn’t look fazed at all, powering on through. Her seadra had seemed to regain some of their former spirit, their faces as impassive as their racer’s own. The Dragon Pokémon thundered through the waters.

Wheeler, from the shoreline, watched as Ruby’s chariot nervously crept past. He sent an encouraging smile and Ruby returned it. 

Clapping her reigns again, she began whispering calming words to her twin seadra. Things like ‘it’s okay, you got this’ and other remarks such as: ‘don’t be scared, we’ll make it through this’.

Whatever she said to them, it seemed to be working and the seadra calmed themselves. Silencing their whinnying, the water horses powered through the waves and despite their racer being tired and soaked to the bone neither would give in. 

_“Come on! Just a few more miles to go! You got this!”_ Ruby told herself. Taking a deep breath, she looked to her right, and to her left. There were only a few more racers left, aside from Weiss. They weren’t important. Only Weiss was. She was the one to beat. _“I’m coming for you, then we can finally settle this. You don’t have to be alone anymore Weiss, I’ll be by your side ready to fight.”_

A miniature tidal wave was forming behind her by this point, actually. Her and Weiss’ chariots clashed, sparks flying. Ruby looked her rival in the eyes.

“It’s over Weiss, give it up!” she called only to be sprayed with water as Weiss clapped her reigns and on she went.

It was basically a straight shot to the finish line now actually, from Yellow Rock back to Blue Point Island. In the distance, Ruby could see the Cianwood Lighthouse rising tall and proud over the seas

They were neck and neck, trading places as often as one would a word. Finally, Ruby had enough of this tug of war, ordering out: “Ice Beam, now!”

And up she went yet another ramp, to the crowd’s amazement landing not on a sandbar but in front of Weiss. Her chariot smashed to bits, Ruby tied herself to the reigns and held on for dear life grasping at one of her seadra’s scales. After all, there was no rule that explicitly stated that one had to arrive _on_ a chariot. They just had to cross a finish line. Free of some excess weight, her two seadra now could really pick up some speed.

“You’re crazy!” Weiss shouted.

“Well, duh!” Ruby replied. “Crazy kinda is my middle name!”

And over the line she went, to the roar of the crowd. Zwei and Kerberos were howling in approval, and Ruby skipped out on getting a trophy only to hold Toil and Trouble tight. Their combined body heat from an inner flame began drying her soaked and shivering form.

“I don’t believe it!” Weiss nearly screeched.

“Believe it, Princess Powder Snow,” Ruby crowed triumphantly. “I beat you, fair and square.”  
  
“Pah!” Weiss snorted, her inner fire stoked. “You didn’t even cross the line in your chariot! I refuse to accept this victory!”

 _“She still won,”_ Snowpea tried to advise. _“Must you be so stubborn?”_

“No, I want a proper victory. Ruby cheated,” Weiss said.

 _“Well, technically…”_ Snowpea tried to advise but again went ignored.

“It’s over Weiss,” Ruby said, tiredly. “Now, if you’ll just let me help you…”

“Oh no, I want to do this right. Forget racing each other,” Weiss said. “We’re going to settle this the way we always should have, with a full six on six Pokemon battle.”  
  
Several people sucked in breaths, clearing the area just in case Ruby decided to take her up on that.

And Ruby had every intent on doing just that, so _very_ tired of the Sinnoh-borne trainer’s bullshit. “Fine! If that’s what makes you happy! Let’s settle this!”  
  
“Gladly!” Weiss snapped back, pulling out a Pokeball and enlarging it. With a flash of light, and a cry Swellow took to the skies rocketing upwards. The Swallow Pokémon spiraled upwards, before flying back down towards the battlefield.

Doublade sprang forth, ringing out with metallic sound. Sword and feather clashed, slashes slicing through the air. The crowd began to scatter as it quickly became evident what kind of battle was about to go down.

Swellow let out a cry, the air echoing with a thunderous boom. It was a destructive, terrible sound and glass shattered up and down the street, raining down like ice. Ruby had covered her ears from the noise, barely hearing Weiss’ next command.  
  
“AGAIN!” Weiss shouted, pointing directly at her. The sound rang out like a sonic boom and Ruby was nearly swept off her feet from the horrific noise. Finally, she had enough and even as her hearing recovered, she shouted out her order.

Watching Swellow rush towards her Doublade, she called out: “Gyro Ball, now!” and the sword-themed Pokemon spun like a dervish attempting to bowl the flying-type over. But Weiss was having none of that.  
  
Swellow’s eyes glowed at the command, taking in the oncoming move and reading it. And then he spun, in a perfect imitation of the Sword Pokémon’s technique. The two spinning Pokemon crashed into each other again and again, spinning around the square smashing into walls and then each other. Swellow finally stopped spinning, staggering away in a daze. 

Meanwhile, Doublade floated, an impassive expression on its face. Glowing bright, it followed its trainer’s command and smashed into the dazed and confused flying type. Its head feeling like iron, it piledrived into the Swellow knocking it out for the count.

And then Weiss summoned her next Pokemon, a truly massive ball rolling forth crackling with energy. It was too late for Doublade to react, and the square was enveloped in an explosion. Smoke covered the arena, Ruby coughing and wheezing as she summoned her next Pokemon.

“Cheap shot, Weiss!” she shouted into the gloom.  
  
“I call it a perfectly acceptable tactic!” the Sinnoh-native yelled back from somewhere in the smoke. “You gotta play it hard if you’re gonna win! The Silver Conference will be even less merciful!” 

Sawsbuck leapt out of the smoke and clashed with Weiss’ Weezing, green smoke rising out of the poison-type’s body. 

The Galarian pokemon tossed Sludge Bomb after Sludge Bomb at his rival, the wild deer-themed Pokemon prancing about in hopes of dodging the attacks.

Stamping his hoof, Sawsbuck’s horns glowed as vines erupted from the very earth and brought Weezing back down to earth. The half-Fairy coughed for life, as the vines leeched away at him, sapping his very energy.  
  
Weiss knew she had to break out of this, and fast. No time to question her moves, she had to stick to the past she chose. She wasn’t running away from this fight! Her eyes narrowed, she shouted out her order.  
  
“Heat Wave, now!” she barked, and Weezing exhaled. Hot breath flew out of his mouth, burning away at the vines as they caught aflame. She very much enjoyed the look of shock and horror on her rival’s face. “...where’s that cockiness now, Ruby?”  
  
 _“Crud!”_ Ruby thought to herself. _“Of course she’s got a fire type move in there somewhere! Why am I not surprised?”_

“Be careful Sawsbuck!” she ordered, her eyes still wide in fear. If that one attack hit…

 _“As I always am, My Lady!”_ the wild deer nodded. His eyes glowed and suddenly there was a whole herd of him! 

_“Double Team, damn!”_ Weiss said to herself, her brow furrowing in concentration. _“Oh well, only one of them is real, I just gotta find who’s the original! Easy!”_

“Heat Wave, again!” she barked out, and Weezing exhaled before letting out another hot breath. Caustic air covered the town square, dry as a bone. Any of the fake copies were eliminated pretty quickly, and the real Sawsbuck was covered in burns.

He staggered about, his fur flickering with small embers. He gasped in pain, galloping to the beach. Weezing hovered after him, and some of the crowd bravely followed after Weiss and Ruby. Cameras flashed as the battle continued in earnest.

“Give up Ruby, I’ve always been better than you,” Weiss said, hoping to dissuade Ruby from her present course. “I promise you, there’s no shame in giving in against a superior opponent. I’ve always won every clash we’ve ever had.”  
  
“And I have a promise of my own to keep to you!” Ruby shot back. “And besides, you said the Silver Conference was worse right? If I can’t beat you, how am I ever expected to succeed there?”

“Very well then! Be prepared to go down in flames then!” Weiss shouted. “You and I are both on master quests, yes, but only one of us can succeed!”  
  
“And it won’t be you. I respect you as a rival Weiss, but I have to go on. I can’t let you stop me! Now Sawsbuck, cure yourself with Aromatherapy!” Ruby ordered, and the deer-like Pokemon shook his horns, a strange powder wafting from the leaves. It floated back down on him, and all injuries began to miraculously heal. 

“Clever, but it still won’t be enough to save you,” said Weiss snapping her fingers. “Sludge Bomb again! Kick her grass, please. I want that deer to feel a taste of your poison.”

“....aaaaaagh, puns? Really?” Ruby groaned loudly. “I thought you were better than that! Now Sawsbuck, before she has a chance to react! Double Team again!”

Once again, clones littered the battlefield. Weiss had her Weezing pepper them with his sludge, but none turned out to be the real deal. And then, from out of nowhere leapt the real Sawsbuck.

“Take Down, now!” Ruby shouted, her Pokemon’s horns and hooves glowing as it barreled into Weezing. 

Weiss had a brief moment of panic, eyes widened and breath catching in her throat. She’d been caught off guard, that little girl was actually using _strategy!_ She’d had the real one hide away, and let Weezing waste his energy! Damn her! “...fine then, Self-Destruct now!”  
  
Ruby’s eyes widened as she heard the low hum and saw Weezing begin to crackle with energy. “Jump away, now!”  
  
Sawsbuck didn’t need to be told twice, jumping away just in time as Weezing ruptured and up he went in an earthshaking boom. 

He stood the victor, Sawsbuck standing over the Poison Gas Pokémon’s unconscious form. But the battle was only halfway over. Mienfoo took to the field, slamming into him with a Drain Punch.

It struck a pose, ready for some weasel style martial arts. The sun was beginning to set, casting a red and gold glow over the sandy dunes. Mienfoo made a ‘come hither’ gesture with his paw, and Sawsbuck obliged him.

Charging forth in another Take Down, his eyes widened as the little weasel leaped over his form. Spinning in mid-air, the fighting-type hit him with another Drain Punch. Down he went, fainting dead away.

“4 left on your end…” Weiss started.  
  
“...and 3 on yours,” Ruby finished. “I’m ahead!”

“Not for long!” Weiss refuted. 

“We’ll see!” Ruby said snapping her fingers and with a howl Kerberos leapt forth onto the battlefield.

Mienfoo wouldn’t lie, he was partially intimidated by the Hellhound. And he knew that Kerberos knew it, judging by the glint of his fangs.

Readying himself, Mienfoo charged forwards with another Drain Punch at the ready and fist drawn back. But Kerberos reared back his head on Ruby’s orders and let loose with a full-force Flamethrower practically incinerating the little martial artist.

It flew back, covered in burns. Soon regaining his footing, Mienfoo flipped onto his feet. And then he leaped forth, his hands going into a certain motion. Launching off an Aura Sphere, he lobbed it at his rival. 

The ball of swirling blue energy ripped into the dark-type’s skin, Kerberos howling in pain. Weiss smirked, figuring this battle just about over. But to her shock and horror, the Houndoom was _enduring_ the pain before he spun and again on Ruby’s orders let loose with another Flamethrower.

And Mienfoo was out of it. Recalling the Pokemon, Weiss whispered: “You did well…” to his pokeball. Inside, she could feel the fighting-type rattle in content.

And then came the storm, Ludicolo dancing to the field and to his own rhythm. And he continued dancing, as clouds began to gather before the rain poured down.

Kerberos let out a little low growl, his flames barely embers as rain pattered onto his fur and seeped into his skin. His fire had grown a bit weaker, and he wasn’t sure he could pull this off. NO! His trainer was counting on him, he had to do her right! He couldn’t give up now. 

Ruby and him felt a connection and they pressed it before Kerberos felt his fire grow to an inferno. Bone armor covered his chest and even as Ludicolo drew back his fist his eyes widened. Dancing about in pain, he clutched his injured fist. Meanwhile, the now Mega-Evolved Kerberos smirked.

Water Gun met Flamethrower, extinguishing flame before Ludicolo swayed back and forth teetering about almost drunkenly. Kerberos watched in a dazed and confused manner, Weiss smirking. All going according to plan.

“Keep up the Teeter Dance!” she ordered, and eventually she saw her chance with Kerberos about to succumb. “Now, Brick Break!”

Ludicolo ran forwards, ready to karate chop into the mega-evolved Pokemon’s armor. Kerberos let out a howl of pain before with a snarl he bit into the Carefree Pokémon’s skin. Tossing him into the wet sand of his own making, Kerberos stood over him. _“Give up, now.”_ he advised.

But Ludicolo didn’t know how to listen, apparently. Still dancing about drunkenly, his Teeter Dance was still having an effect on Kerberos’ willpower. And he found it harder and harder to resist. And another Water Gun shot him back to reality. 

Summoning the sun at last with Sunny Day, he prepared himself for his trainer’s next order. And it came. “Flamethrower!”  
  
And that was the end of that. Ludicolo slumped to the sand, completely unconscious. But Weiss still had her ace in the hole, something that promised to demolish all who stood against her. All of Ruby’s Pokemon would bow down to Latias.

And with a coo, one seemingly to make you underestimate her, the Legendary dragon floated above the sands. Ruby swallowed nervously. _“Oh boy.”_

She had to think fast, and recalling Kerberos she knew of only one Pokemon that might even stand remotely a chance against her might. And so she summoned him.

With a grunt, Venusaur took to the field, the truly massive dinosaur lurching forwards. Latias fired Mist Ball after Mist Ball, Weiss rapidly shouting out the attack and sapping away at his strength.

But Venusaur continued to march, gathering up energy from the sun before he, like Kerberos before him, Mega-Evolved. Flowers bloomed all over his body, and the Seed Pokémon _glowed_ with energy.

And Weiss knew she had to act fast. One move would end this match.

“GIGA IMPACT!”

And Latias rocketed forwards. 

Ruby swallowed nervously, no doubt in her mind that would be the end of things. But if she could fire off one last move… _“He’s supercharged from the sun, I knew Latias would likely be her last Pokemon so I had to think ahead. Thank you Kerberos.”_ _  
__  
_And so she let out her final order. “SOLAR BEAM!”  
  
And with Latias rushing towards him, she had no chance to dodge the fired move. And it hit, bathing the Eon Pokémon with sunfire. And really, that was the final move, and as the smoke cleared the victor became evident. Venusaur stood over his defeated opposition, roaring in triumph.

And Weiss cried, not for the loss but for the fact that maybe… just maybe there was hope for her. Maybe she _could_ be free from her father… After so long, her emotions were let free. And Ruby held her tighter, whispering: “It’s going to be okay… I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...well, this was a hella-stressful chapter to write. Like, even I'm not sure if I did my best, but I wanted to bring Weiss and Ruby's rivalry to the perfect emotional close. God, 6 on 6 battles are tough to write... Remind me never to do another one but for a while eh?
> 
> (I seriously had some many tabs open writing this, keeping track of moves and type weaknesses...)


	11. 11: Strengthening Steel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I've extended the chapter count *again*. You'll soon find out why, but for now have a very happy Christmas.

Weiss would admit, having a… companion on her travels was pleasing. Her pokemon were easy to talk to, but in the end they were still only just that. Pokemon.

An actual human being on the other hand offered a different sort of companionship.

Even if her chosen traveling companion was… at times incredibly irritating.

“Oooooooh, wow, lookit Weiss!” babbled Ruby, pointing to anything and everything around her. “This forest, this place, oh it’d be great to go on a catching spree! Sure, I don’t have that many Pokeballs on hand right now, but oh well I can just go and buy some at the nearest market, and then we can come back right?”

They’d left the Whirl Islands far behind them, and were re-entering the timbered forests of the mainland. Waves crashed somewhere just out of sight, the blue waters of the seas just barely visible through the woodlands. The warm evening light was poking through the treetops, orange and red filtering in through green.

“It’s getting late, Ruby,” Weiss sighed to herself. “We’ll be lucky to make the Pokemon Center before nightfall. Olivine is still a day’s walk away. Have you ever thought about buying a bike?”  
  
“Well, yeah, sure,” Ruby shrugged, Hoothoots already beginning to make their evening songs, wishing them well on their journey. “‘Course I have, what do you take me for, an idiot?”  
  
Weiss decided against answering that question. 

“But it’d take all the fun out of it!” Ruby went on, her appletun on her shoulder nibbling on a pocky. Of all things! “I mean, yeah, sure there’s the wind blowing through your hair and all, buuuuuuuuuuuut you could easily pass some cool Pokemon on by without ever knowing they were ever there!”

“Yes, that is a fair point,” Weiss admitted. “You must constantly be keeping your eyes peeled. But if that is the case, and you are doing exactly that, why is your team so low?” she pondered.

“...well, I, uh… Quality over quantity, right?” Ruby debated with another little shrug. The sun was low in the sky, just barely over the horizon. Evening was beginning to give way to night, orange turning to dark blue and then to black. “I can only train so many Pokemon at once!”

“So you do know when to back down…” Weiss observed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ruby glared at her, with her hands on hips.

“It’s just… oh, how do I put this?” Weiss pondered for a moment. “You’re not a very restrained person, Ro… Sorry, Ruby. It seems at times you follow your heart, over your head. N-Not that is always a bad thing, as evidenced by myself of course, but I’ve always had this image of you in my head of you catching every Pokemon you run across!”

Ruby laughed nervously glancing at her bag. Well, she certainly wasn't _entirely_ wrong there!

“W-Well, if I did that,” said Ruby, still laughing nervously and hoping Weiss wouldn’t notice. “I would hardly have time to do anything else! Think about it, I’d be so busy catching other Pokemon and training them up that I couldn’t possibly have any time to actually make it to any gyms!”

“A fair point,” Weiss conceded. “Honestly, there is a fair amount of thought that goes into a journey like this. A fair amount of arithmetic really, with one working out how to balance training time and making it to your next destination.”

“Awwwwww Weiss, did you have to bring math into this?” Ruby whined childishly, looking as if she was about to sink to the floor. “I hated math in school!”

“Honestly Ruby, stop it, you’re embarrassing me,” said Weiss pulling her up by the arm. “What you do reflects on me, now that we’re traveling together. Just try not to get your butt kicked too badly when we return to Olivine City please? I cannot be seen with someone who loses their first try at a gym!”

“But most everyone loses at their first time at a gym!” Ruby pointed out. 

“Exactly, I expect a higher standard,” Weiss nodded before her voice turned softer, sadder. “My family expects a higher standard. If my father has his way, you wouldn’t be…”  
  
“Exactly,” Ruby’s voice hardened. “But if your father ever had his way, you wouldn’t be allowed to be you. You’re going to be free from him, I promise you that. And I always keep my promises.”  
  
“Yes, well… we’ll see,” Weiss said, worriedly, fearing for her future. “I guess… I guess when we reach the next Pokemon Center you’ll be contacting your mother?”

At this, Ruby grinned.

“I already did, actually!” said she. “While we were on the fairy, while you were off working on your tan or whatever you were doing I called my mother. She’ll be looking into Jacques, talking to the police.”  
  
“Please, at least refer to him as my father,” said Weiss, though her voice faltered, not really sounding if she wanted to believe her own words. “He at least deserves that much. A little bit of respect, please.”  
  
“But that’s the thing!” Ruby exclaimed, tears in her eyes, and sounding venomously angry. Like she was an Ekans poised to strike. Like she was a Liepard ready to pounce, her voice barely higher than that of an angry hiss. “He’s not your father, he doesn’t deserve the right to be called that! He doesn’t deserve anyone’s respect, not after he laid his hands on you!”  
  
 _“Oh Ruby…”_ Weiss thought, touched at her best friend’s defensiveness of her. Her heart ached, nobody besides her sister had ever stood up for her like this. Of course, she thought with a small sniffle, how could they? She always pushed them away. 

...why did Ruby stick with her? She was beautiful on the outside, true, but on the inside she was simply just so ugly! 

She hadn’t even realized she was crying until Ruby put her arms around her, hugging her close. 

“Hey,” she whispered. “It’s okay. I’m never leaving you, I promise you. And what did I say about me and my promises?”  
  
“That you always keep them?” Weiss hiccuped.

“Exactly,” Ruby beamed, as bright as the sun. “So keep your chin up, okay? Everything, it’ll all work out in the end!”

And maybe, Weiss mused, she could believe her.

“Is that someone crying I hear?” asked a voice, a muscled young man leaning up against a tree trunk. He wore a gold-yellow wife beater, arms crossed. “Well now, that just won’t do!”  
  
“Agreed,” said another, blue streaks in his hair. Adjusting his glasses, he fumbled with his suit and tie. “And I believe it is our duty to cheer her up! So, what do you say, mind if I reel you in?”

Ruby’s jaw hung limp, her appletun having dropped his pocky in an equally stunned silence. Weiss simply facepalmed, her earlier distress forgotten. _“Oh, the kinds of characters you meet as a trainer!”_

They were about her age, though obviously a bit kookier than she. 

“Clearly, you are hardly a friend if you let your bestie cry!” said the second, looking at Ruby.

“Anyone who lets a pretty girl cry shall feel my wraith!” said the first.

“...okay then, we so don’t have time for this…” Ruby grumbled waving them off. “So if you don’t mind, can you please shoo? Weiss is my friend, my best in fact, and you don’t have any right to judge us or our friendship!”  
  
“NO!” said the glasses-wearing trainer. “If you feel so confident in your friendship with your friend, prove it! Defend the honor of your friendship via a battle!”

“...ugh, must we?” Ruby groaned, long and loud.

“I think we should,” said Weiss. “I’m honestly quite tired of these two fools, and if it’ll get them to buzz off… Well! Time to teach two bumbling idiots a lesson! It shall actually be a pleasure!”

Enlarging a Pokeball, she grinned.

“Snowpea, show time!”

The air grew colder, as Snowpea erupted from the Pokeball spinning in mid-air before landing in the dirt with a cocky grin. 

And Appletun was soon at her side.

Ice and grass against fire and normal. Two by two. And it started off with an eruption, gaseous smog exploding from the enemy’s torkoal.

Her fur blacked and charred by soot, Snowpea shrieked in rage before firing off an Ice Beam into the smoke. With any luck, it’d hit something. 

And oh did it, the opposition’s ursaring stumbling about with a frozen leg before collapsing into a gully just off the path. Roaring in rage, the bear-like Pokemon thrashed around before shattering the ice and lunging at Snowpea with his claws glowing with the power of Fury Swipes.

Snowpea rolled out of the way even as Appletun rapidly fired off seeds like bullets at the massive bear. The battle progressed deeper into the forest, the trainer running after their partners.

“Ursaring!” said the muscled trainer who called himself his master. “You know what to do, use Scary Face!”  
  
Appletun nearly fainted at the demonic look on the monster’s face, practically frozen in place. Meanwhile, ice went up against fire as Snowpea blew through her foe’s Flamethrower with another Ice Beam.

But Torkoal got wise, spinning in a circle still breathing fire, his flames erupting into a Flame Wheel. The clearing caught ablaze, Ninetales ducked under the attack sliding forwards on her own ice. Sliding past her opponent, she watched her trainer smirk. Sharing a nod, the unspoken command passed.

Suddenly breaking down into sobs, her whole body shaking, it was hard not to feel awkward just looking at her. Snowpea continued crying her crocodile tears, not that Torkoal knew them to be false.

“...do I hear somebody crying?” asked a certain musclehead.

“Yeah, it’s you weeping your defeat!” declared Ruby, pointing directly at him. “Now, Appletun! Apple Acid!”

Breathing his internal juices, coughing them up onto Ursaring’s fur, a certain little dragon almost smirked in satisfaction at the roar of pain.

“Oooooh, told ya,” Ruby grinned. “Now, to borrow a certain catchphrase mind if I reel you in?”

“Hey!” shouted the original owner of said catchphrase.

“Don’t bet on it!” roared Ruby’s rival. “Ursaring, Fury Swipes again!”

The grizzly situation seemed to get even grimmer as the bear lurched forwards, claws glowing with power. He slashed forwards, striking as he plunged his claws into Appletun’s hide.

“Seed Bomb!” Ruby barked. “Get him away from you!”  
  
Appletun’s eyes glowed, and from the heavens fell massive seeds crashing atop Ursaring. Meanwhile, ice seemed to be winning out over fire. Torkoal continued to watch awkwardly as his opponent cried her very heart out.

 _“You… you singed my fur, you monster! Oh, I was going to be entered in a beauty contest, and you… you ruined it!”_ Snowpea blubbered out. _“I… I’m sure to lose now!”_

 _“I’m very sorry miss,”_ said the Torkoal, not really sure how to comfort her. _“If… if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you."_

 _“Oh, trust me…”_ Snowpea grinned, dropping the act. _“There is.”_

Lunging forwards, she pressed her lips to his own upon Weiss’ command. Draining away energy, almost like a vampire, Snowpea smirked in satisfaction.

“Iron Defense, now!” cried the torkoal’s trainer, in a panic. “Don’t let her hit you again!”

Torkoal’s shell hardened, as he retreated into it. It glistened like solid platinum, shining in the moonlight. 

Weiss bit her lip, she should have expected that. Oh well, this would be nice practice for Janice wouldn’t it?

“Ice Beam, again! Flashfreeze him!” she ordered, and Snowpea obliged her command. 

Nearby, Ursaring had ducked behind a boulder to avoid the explosive seeds dropping all around him. One more utterly decimated the boulder, rocks flying everywhere. Having had enough of being put on the defensive, the bear then went on the offensive.

“Now we’ll see who weeps from their defeat!” said his trainer.

A Hyper Beam then scythed through the forest, ripping apart trees and sending Hoothoots flying, scattering into the night sky.

“You… oh, I can’t believe you! You’re making _them_ cry, destroying their homes!” Ruby snapped, stamping her foot in her fury. “Your Ursaring can’t be taught how to aim properly? It’s not me who should be weeping, it’s you!”

“I’m… I’m making someone cry?” asked the trainer, eyes wide in shock.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s just trying to psych you out!” said his friend, looking on in worry as an Ice Beam shattered his torkoal’s Iron Defense. “Smog, now, quickly!”

The poisonous gas once again filled the clearing, and Snowpea coughed and wheezed, but staggered forwards through her trainer’s encouragement.

“Come on girl, you can do it…” Weiss pleaded. “We’re going to go all the way to the Silver Conference, don’t you see? So don’t let this guy stop you!”

 _“You’re quite right, I can’t let him stop me here!”_ said Snowpea, and fought through the pain for one last attack.

“Draining Kiss, again!” cried Weiss.

And the torkoal fell silent, slipping into unconsciousness as the smog lifted. But his trainer on the other hand, well he was far from silent. Letting out a cry, he fell to the earth screaming: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Ruby and her partner were finishing up as well, actually. Appletun hardened himself with Iron Defence, letting the Fury Swipes barely be more than a tickle. Then, when the time was right… he struck.  
  
“Dragon Pulse!” said his trainer. And he obliged her, energy rippling out from him and it washed over Ursaring like a wave. The bear stumbled, staggered before falling face first into the dirt.

“As I said before, you’d be weeping with the tears of defeat,” Ruby said. “I told you not to doubt me and Weiss’ friendship right? Together, we’ll make an unbeatable team.”

And quite honestly? If you were to ask Weiss right now? She would definitely believe her words. Truly.

She wasn't the only one though. From the woodlands she watched, impressed. _“She sticks up for her friends, stands by them even if they don't want her to. Perhaps… she is worthy to take up my blade.”_

\-----

All was not well in the house of Galactic, Saturn having heard the news.

“What is it?” Cinder seethed, her massive dragon type looming over her as a warning to all who crossed her. It’s tail moved dangerously, scales jingling out a warning. “This better be important.  
  
“It’s Jacques, ma’am,” said Saturn, nervously. Woe betide the poor grunt who crossed the newest in Galactic’s high command. Honestly, Saturn hated her with every fiber of her being, walking around like she owned the place. But very wisely, she feared her as well.

It was impossible to tell if Cinder was going to compliment you, or kill you. Just ask Mars and Saturn.

“Well, out with it!” Cinder barked. “What about Jacques?”

“It’s all over the news, ma’am,” said Saturn, not mincing words. “He’s under investigation, all of his assets have been frozen.”

“Damn!” Cinder swore, long and loud. “Oh well, it couldn’t be helped I suppose. He never was really good at covering his tracks. No matter, he’s given us all the funds we need.”

“So we’re cutting him loose then?” Saturn surmised, listening with rapt attention. “Throwing him to the Mightyenas?”

“Ooooh, you catch on fast,” Cinder commented with a little smile. Not a genuine one, no, but one of those evil little smiles that promised pain and suffering to anyone who crossed her. It honestly scared Saturn a little. Maybe turned her on just a little. Maybe, and just a little. This woman was like a seviper. Beautiful, but ultimately deadly. “Maybe you’re not as dumb as you look. Jacques was always a loose end really, way too impulsive. Just out of curiosity, what finally dug his grave?”

As she spoke, the Lady Cinder had her back to Saturn, apparently far more interested in painting her nails than whatever she had to say.

“From the sounds of it, he wasn’t fond of _anyone_ . Not even his own family,” Saturn said after a short silence, still a little scared of her new boss. “Apparently, the former Champion of Ga-”  
  
“Did… did you say Champion?” Cinder stuttered out, whirling around to face Saturn and for the first time showing a look of… well, _fear_ honestly, on her face. She slammed her hands into the desk in front of her, shouting: “Well, out with it! I won’t ask again! Did you say the word I think you did?”

Her kommo-o’s tail was now slashing through the air dangerously, having obviously sensed his master’s distress. 

“I-I did, yes,” Saturn stammered. “Apparently, the former Champi…”

“Eh eh eh,” Cinder said, placing a finger to her lips. “There’s no such thing as a _former_ Champion. They may say they’re officially retired, but when duty calls they will spring into action. Such as now. But please do continue. Pick up where you left off.”

“Yes, the Champion of Galar, Summer Rose? Apparently, she asked, no, _requested,_ ” Saturn corrected herself upon Cinder’s look. “...for the local police to look into Jacques’ doings. No idea why now of all times, but they found quite a few… off the books transactions.”

“DAMN!” Cinder swore and with a shriek of rage flipped her desk. Her kommo-o grunted, apparently worried. “...if they look too closely, they’re going to find he worked with Cyrus. We need to go underground for a time, disappear back into the shadows. It’s too dangerous to reappear right now. All thanks to Jacques Schnee and the fact that he couldn’t keep his hands off his daughters!”

“Guess that means one of us will have to tell the boss,” Saturn mused, eyeing a certain dragon nervously. 

“Yes, quite, and guess who the lucky bitch who has to do _that_ is. Moi, exactly!” Cinder growled out, looking pretty close to a kommo-o herself. “Damn, all the dirty jobs. And I’ll have to get even dirtier, before the day is done. Jacques has become a loose end. And you know what we do to loose ends right? We cut their strings!”

\-----

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” Weiss commented, the two continuing on their trek down Route 40. “Stick up for me like that I mean. I could have handled those two myself, really.”

“But you don’t have to,” Ruby replied, somewhat argumentatively. “That’s the thing now, you’re not alone anymore.”

“I know, Ruby,” Weiss sighed in admittance. “...It’s just, well, reflex by now. You know?”  
  
“Oh, Weiss…” Ruby sighed, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Thanks, Ruby.” Weiss smiled, and it wasn’t the usual cruel judging smirk. No, it was an actually kind smile, one that would light up a whole room if seen. 

“Anytime,” Ruby said, vaguely aware she was being watched. It _could_ have been hoothoots in the trees, but she’d had this feeling before. “...hey Weiss, I’m glad to be your friend.”  
  
“I’m glad to be yours, Ruby.” 

“Also, do you feel like we’re being watched?” Ruby asked, somewhat nervously. 

“It’s something you get used to, really. Especially when you’re famous, you always know the paparazzi are lurking in the shadows,” Weiss said dismissively. “Don’t worry about it Ruby.”  
  
“It’s just… well, I am worrying,” Ruby admitted.

“Then don’t,” replied Weiss. “There is nothing to worry about.”  
  
“It’s a feeling I’ve had before honestly,” Ruby admitted, and Weiss scoffed.

“Of course you’ve had it before, you’ve been around wild pokemon for weeks,” she told her. “You’re bound to get a few curious eyes! We’re in a forest, Ruby, of course we are being watched. I’d be more worried if we weren’t, actually.”

“Alright, it’s just…” Ruby trailed off upon seeing the look on the Schnee Heiress’s face. She quickly realized she should probably drop it. “Alright, fine. Let’s just get going…”

Eventually, they did make it to the Pokemon Center and entered to find an unexpected surprise.  
  
“BLAKE!” Ruby cried, running up to embrace her friend in a tight hug.  
  
“Get off, Ruby,” Blake chastised, held closely though there was no teeth in her statement. “You’re freezing!”

“I know…” Ruby whined, Blake’s glameow brushing up and rubbing up against her leg purring loudly. “And you’re so warm…”

“Schnee.”

“Belladonna.” the two greeted each other courteously, in passing.

“I see you two finally met again,” said Blake, her tone even. “I was wondering when it would be.”  
  
“Ruby is like a magnet,” Weiss returned, still equally courteous. “She attracts others to her.”

Blake gave her childhood friend a ‘look’. “...did you really have to go find her again? I’m amazed you aren’t trying to tear each other’s hair out right now.” 

“We managed to… make amends,” Weiss said, not really willing to go into details.

“Did you now?” Blake asked, raising a curious eyebrow knowing she was probably in for quite a tale. That was, if Weiss was willing to tell her.

“She means we became friends!” Ruby chirped. 

“Did you now?” Blake asked, now even more curious than ever.

“We… managed to find a common ground, I guess you could say,” Weiss said, her tone making it clear she wasn’t willing to go into details. “But _considering_ I know you’d never let this go until you have answers, and it’ll be on the news tomorrow morning probably, Ruby managed to… help me with my father.”  
  
“Why would she need to…?” Blake trailed off before noticing the heiress trying to avoid anyone’s eyes. She let out a small: “Oh.” in realization.

“I’m so deeply sorry,” Blake went on, pulling her into a hug. Weiss’ eyes widened in surprise, not really expecting it. “If there’s anything I can do to help…?”

“Just… don’t go treating me like a charity case, okay?” Weiss asked. “I can manage.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Blake asked, her yellow eyes wide with worry, and a bit watery.

“Truly,” Weiss replied, probably lying but her tone urging everyone not to press. “You needn’t worry about me. I am not going to break down crying. I must hold myself to the standards expected of me.”

“Weiss…” Ruby whispered, sorrowfully. 

“I am not anyone’s pity party. Ruby,” Weiss said to her, her voice hardening. “Please don’t treat me as if I am.”  
  
“But…” Ruby started before Weiss cut her off again.

“But nothing!” Weiss said sharply, catching a few’s attention. She ignored their prying eyes, looking up towards the clock. “We should be getting to bed, it’ll be a long walk to Olivine and we need to rest up. We have a gym battle to prepare for, and I for one, will not be thinking it over on a tired mind.”

Without another word, she went off to find her room.

“She’s right, you know,” Blake admitted, getting up as well. “I would recommend we all get some sleep.”

“If you say so…” Ruby said, and eventually found herself sitting in her bed listening to the sounds of kricketots chirping outside. It was a soothing orchestral symphony designed to put the listener to a restful sleep. 

Suddenly, a light filled the room before dimming itself as Blake entered. Ruby’s eyes widened, seeing her friend in a frankly rather flattering nightie. It was honestly cute, mostly pink with white lace. 

“Blake…?” Ruby said, rubbing her tired eyes. “...don’t tell me you had a nightmare. Did Darkrai get to you? I think I have a lunar wing in my bag somewhere… I can lend it to you if you want?”

“Oh Ruby…” Blake laughed, now sitting on her lap. “...most of those things are fake, anyways. Don’t you know? Made by salespersons looking to make a cheap buck off the gullible!”

“Hey, are you saying I’m gullible?” Ruby squeaked.

“No,” Blake replied, placing a finger to her lips. “I’m saying you’re a very kind person. What you did for Weiss… you didn’t have to, but that’s what I love about you. That’s what I _love_ about you.”  
  
“Oh…” Ruby said, not really comprehending. And then she was.

Blake smiled. “There you go.”

“I… I think I like you too, Blake,” Ruby admitted without much hesitation. “I don’t know, though…”

“But…?” Blake pressed.

“I’m willing to find out.”

Blake smiled, before kissing her. And then kissing her again, the two grabbing at each other as they slipped under the covers, and Blake slipping her nightie off her shoulders. As for what happened next? Well, I’ll just let you use your imagination.

\-----

Weiss honestly didn’t know what was taking her fellow trainer so long.

She was usually up bright and early, never one to dawdle.

Oh well, looks like it was up to her to drag her sorry ass out of bed this morning! 

If Weiss only knew what was _really_ happening! Blake was _trying_ , to her credit to get dressed and button up her blouse but Ruby was _so_ damn attentive. She supposed she shouldn’t have been so surprised, the girl was passionate about everything else really. She would be a bit of a lovebug.

Ruby was hugging her from behind, hands wrapped around her naked waist and kissing and nibbling at her neck.

“Arceus, you’re demanding…” Blake muttered, rather fondly. “You really should get dressed too, kitten, and get going. You have a gym battle to meet. I’m sure Jasmine will be understanding if you’re late, but Weiss? Not so much!”

“Eeeeep!” Ruby squeaked out, suddenly seeing her point. Discarding her pajama bottoms, she made her way to the bathroom to brush her hair. Blake’s gaze tried not to linger for too long. A nearly impossible task, to be sure!

 _“Oh, the sacrifices I must make…”_ Blake thought to herself with a girlish giggle.

Once Ruby was convinced her hair was suitably ‘fussed with’, she got dressed, grabbed her back, kissed Blake longingly and met up with Weiss.

“And _where_ in the Reverse World were you?” Weiss demanded, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently, irritably. “I was waiting for at least a half hour! Surely it doesn’t take you _that_ long to get dressed! I’ve seen Slowbro faster than you!”

“Oh, you’d be surprised...” Ruby trailed off, giggling at some private joke.

“And what in Palkia’s name is _that_ supposed to mean…” Weiss asked, still impatient before she noticed some _very_ interesting marks on her bestie’s neck. _“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!”_

“...oh, I see,” Weiss commented. “...well, for the record, I hope you and her are very happy together!”  
  
Now, to ignore that churning feeling in her gut.

“Wha… how did you?” Ruby asked, looking back at her confused. 

“You didn’t hide the evidence as well as you thought, let’s say!” Weiss commented with a laugh, and it suddenly hit Ruby. Letting out an embarrassed squeak, she fussed with her cloak hoping it hid Blake’s tokens of affection from last night!

“...you’re taking enjoyment in my suffering aren’t you?” Ruby grumbled as they headed out the door. “Like, you had to go and ruin it! I was on a high this morning, until you came along! You ruined it, you’re a ruiner of things! A ruiner of things in high heels!”

Weiss just laughed for the next mile or so.

The journey to Olivine passed really without much incident. No crazy weirdos saying anything about crying or reeling someone in. The two passed through the Olivine city gates just before noon, sun rising high in the autumn sky.

The gym was easy enough to spot, a brutalist style of steel rising from the regular houses surrounding it. The inside, as they found, was basically a warehouse with Jasmine at the other end.

“We’re here for a gym badge!” Ruby called out, fidgeting in place from her excitement. She was barely able to sit still, and Weiss was convinced she might have to duct tape her new friend to the wall. But somehow, Ruby managed to find her way to a nearby bench without bouncing off the walls, and _stay there_.

“Ah, I heard you’d be coming. Chuck called ahead, if… if that’s okay with you?” Jasmine stuttered, pressing her fingers together nervously. “I… he said to expect you. You’re Weiss and Ruby r-right? It’s a h-honor and a pleasure.”  
  
“Pleasure’s all mine, actually,” Weiss grinned, settling easily into her battle mindstate. “A pleasure to kick your ass.”  
  
“Oh.. Oh, I see.” Jasmine said. “Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jasmine, a Gym Leader. I use the...clang! Steel type! ...Do you know about the Steel type? They are very hard, cold, sharp, and really strong! Um... I'm not lying.”

“I’m sorry about her, she’s _really_ competitive,” Ruby sighed. “Don’t utterly demolish her, okay?”

“I’ll try not to,” Weiss said. “No promises though. Now watch me Ruby, this is how a pro does it!”

And how a pro did it turned out to be just throwing her Latias at the poor girl. No matter what, nothing seemed to stop it.

Latias surged forwards, air being ripped through as the Eon Pokemon launched itself at Jasmine’s first pokemon, an unfortunate Magnazone.

“Electroweb, now Magnazone!” Jasmine cried out, and the Pokemon hummed before it generated a net of lightning. Tossing it at Latias, to the half steel half electric type’s credit it did hold… briefly. Then, Jasmine watched in stunned silence as the Legendary ripped herself free.

“Zen Headbutt!” Weiss snapped her fingers, and like a rocket the Eon Pokemon zipped forwards ramming the magnezone head-on. Down with a crash it came, and was recalled in a burst of red.

A lairon thundered forwards, before rolling towards Latias and striking it with a destructive Shadow Claw. Latias let out a cry of pain, Weiss gritting her teeth before calling out: “Dragon Breath!”  
  
Caustic flame erupted from the seemingly unstoppable dragon’s mouth, scalding armor and ripping into metal. Lairon was down, and at last came Jasmine’s signature. A steelix.

“Properly tempered steel won't be made rusty by things like this!” Jasmine, her words sounding less confident than she hoped they would. “Ice Fang, now!”  
  
The Iron Snake Pokémon leaped forwards, and brought Latias to the floor with a crash biting down into skin with fangs of frost. Latias let out a pained cry, each passing moment bringing her closer to unconsciousness. 

Weiss knew she had to do something, and fast. “Dragon Pulse, now!”

Latias smashed free with a burst of light, and steelix’s energy fell rapidly before it too was down. Weiss had swept the Gym.

“Really, Weiss?” Ruby said, shooting her friend a disapproving look as she passed, practically cradling her new badge.

“We _are_ on a time limit, remember?” Weiss commented, not really caring. “Or have you forgotten? Tick tock Ruby, the Silver Conference waits for no one!”

Shortly, Jasmine’s Pokemon were healed and she was up for another round. Ruby waved nervously.

“You… don’t have any Legendaries you’re going to throw at me do you?” Jasmine asked, understandably nervous. Curtsying all the same, she tried to put on a brave face.

“No, and even if I did, I want to do this properly. No cheap tricks,” Ruby replied, returning the curtsy. “In other words… Hit me with your best shot!”

Weiss sighed, but watched the battle as both opponents threw their first Pokemon into the field of battle.

Trevenant came to battle, a surprise to Weiss and the haunted tree stared down it’s opponent with a blood-red cycloptic eye. 

“Bulldoze!” both trainers cried, both lairon and trevenant building up speed as they crashed into each other. The arena basically exploded, a cloud of dust filling the room. But then, only one emerged with lairon being sent flying out, and crashing into a wall.

But he wasn’t out of the fight. The Iron Armor Pokémon never gave up that easily. “Rock Blast, now! Bury it!” Jasmine ordered, seemingly as possessed as a certain tree.

Her pokemon began hurling rubble at the half grass-type, striking again and again as the rocks belted it like meteors. Trevenant held his ground, rooting himself to the earth before Ruby shouted out her response.

“Drain Punch!” Ruby shouted, and her pokemon hit lairon with such thunderous force she wouldn’t have been surprised if he toppled over. Sapping energy, it was obvious that the steel-type was on his last legs.

“I don’t think so, l-let’s see how Ruby copes when s-she can’t see you! Sandstorm!”

Wind rushing through vents, coming from places unknown, they gathered around lairon as it pulled them close. Controlling them like a spectre, the arena’s dirt and dust soon covered everything in a miniature haboob. 

Ruby shielded her eyes as best as she could, seriously straining them even as she heard a cry of: “Timber!” 

And then, trevenant went down due to another Rock Blast. Ruby let out a squeak of worry, before recalling him. She had a friend to avenge, and she knew just how to do it. Kerberos erupted forth, with hellfire racing from his paws as his throat glowed a brilliant orange. 

_“As always, the old fallback. Oh well, I can’t fault her for using Fire against Steel, but if we face off I will know how to counter that flame.”_ Weiss mused even as lairon went down via a Flamethrower.

And then came a mawile, rapidly evolving into her mega state. The ‘ponytail’ on the back of her head burst open, looking rather vaginal-like in a way with glistening sharp teeth.

“Fairy Wind!” cried Jasmine, and an ethereal wind kicked up slashing into Kerberos’ hide.

But he stood his ground, having faced tougher challenges than this on his rise to the top. Ruby snapped her fingers, shouting: “Beat Up, now!”

And he set to work, ripping into the samurai-like Pokemon. Sadly, her half-fairy typing did buffet the attacks, and Kerberos leaped away, flipping as his paws touched ground once more. The little steel-type had her back to him, jaws opened wide.

“Thunder Punch, if you please,” Jasmine asked and the little Pokemon whirled around fists crackling with dancing lightning.

Kerberos slipped under her, sliding on the floor as Ruby’s eyes sparkled and Jasmine felt her stomach drop out from under her. She realized too late. “FLAMETHROWER!”

The air ignited and the mawile was consumed by flame. And now Jasmine was on her last, but her most powerful.

Again came her steelix. The massive serpent erupted forth from the earth, jaws wide and crackling with electricity.

Kerberos dived just in the nick of time, the steelix’s jaws spread wide. Then the massive snake dug into the gym floor upon his . And from behind, he erupted, this time ready with another attack.

“Breaking Swipe!” Jasmine called.

The dragon type move would hit, and hit hard. Kerberos didn’t stand a chance. Ruby gave a little growl, but took a deep breath knowing she had several Pokemon left. And Jasmine only had one.

“Zwei~!” she whistled, and her faithful canine was ready. “Rock Tomb!”  
  
Jasmine’s eyes widened as she saw the Herdier bury her faithful companion in earth and rock. Steelix groaned, the move incredibly effective. 

“Baby Doll Eyes!” Ruby called as Jasmine let loose with an attack of her own.

“Ice Fang!” she called out.

Suddenly. Zwei looked like a little puppy again with big wide innocent eyes and for a moment you could see Steelix succumb. Even if his attack hit, he couldn’t bear to hurt the cute little dog that badly…

Jasmine swore quietly under her breath, recognizing what her foe was doing.

“And again!” Ruby called, and somehow Zwei managed to look even cuter. 

“No…” Jasmine whispered, realizing the battle was lost. And it was, even with her steelix striking with another Ice Fang.

“ROCK TOMB!” Ruby called out, and that frankly was the end of that as her Zwei’s foe was buried. 

_“You played a bit dirty Ruby,”_ Weiss thought as she watched Ruby dance about with new badge in hand. _“I approve, so you actually grasp the idea of strategy.”_

Really, they could have treated themselves to a celebratory lunch but they didn’t get the chance. As they strode out of the gym, in the front hallway they found what could only be described as a massive battle-scarred wolf.

“Who… who are you?” Ruby asked trepidatiously. 

_“Hello Madam Rose,”_ said the wolf, in a feminine tone. _“You may call me Zacian.”_

\-----

Far away, Jacques Schnee reflected on his failures. So his little Weiss had gone running to a Champion? Of course she had, she never knew how to fend for herself!  
  
“Who the…?” he suddenly asked, looking up as someone entered his cell. “Officer?”  
  
But it was not, and all went black. 

“I’m done here,” said a Galactic grunt into his comms, standing over a now bloody floor with a smoking gun in hand. “Returning to base. Jacques Schnee will never talk in court.”

**Author's Note:**

> Popped my cherry for another fandom... er, fandoms I suppose. Please do leave your thoughts, I do like to know how I'm doing here.


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